


One Last Time

by Lavender_chan



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, F/F, F/M, Frisk is female, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Reader Is Frisk, Skippable Smut, Smut, chara is male, nsfw in chapter 24, past sins, this is a happy ending wish fulfillment for myself
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-05
Updated: 2016-06-13
Packaged: 2018-06-06 11:33:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 25
Words: 40,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6752329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lavender_chan/pseuds/Lavender_chan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You’ve been through this story one too many times; over and over, you try to find everyone’s happy endings, and yet there never seems to be a path that leads you to the best ending. Over and over….you walk this path. Reset after Reset, Timeline after Timeline.</p><p>Rules of my Undertaleverse:<br/>-All major characters are 18+ unless otherwise specified<br/>-Major Spoilers<br/>-My Frisk (the READER) is considered female<br/>-Resets cause the READER to travel to the beginning of the same timeline/universe.<br/>-Reseting the timeline resets all characters except for the READER; basically, everyone else goes back to their previous ages when the READER resets, but the READER continues to age as she travels from one reset to the next.<br/>-I will add more as they occur to me.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prelude

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Welcome to my Undertale fic, I hope you enjoy your stay!
> 
> Quick notes for this chapter:  
> I was inspired by two things for this fic and in particular, this chapter.
> 
> [The Last Straw](http://zarla.deviantart.com/art/UNDERTALE-SPOILERS-the-last-straw-566671924)  
> -A short comic by Zarla on deviantArt.
> 
> [Stronger than you (Sans Parody)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPBBo1neb2U&index=92&list=PLxbX0GGTwjnlBbYerGAzCglQgaq5Jq5fW)  
> and  
> [[Undertale] Stronger than you response (ver. Frisk)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ3z6oxNheo&index=90&list=PLxbX0GGTwjnlBbYerGAzCglQgaq5Jq5fW)  
> -Dramatic songs about the genocide run that I've been listening to on repeat for...idk...weeks? lol
> 
> All of the above are great to look into!

The golden light of the judgment hall no longer held beauty for you; that impression had left you a long, _long_ time ago. Your body shook and ached, your mind was exhausted; how many times had you LOADED? You had lost count at 23.

“did you ever really care about any of us monsters?” 

Your face jerked up at the sound of _his_ voice. 

Sans. 

He looked angry, even with his eternal skeletal grin on his face. His eyes pierced through you, one socket glowing bright blue from his magic, the other dark and eternally empty. You wanted to answer him, to defend yourself, to say _something_ that would make all of this worth it. 

But nothing came. 

You dodged an attack by jumping to one side, but almost immediately, you felt the icy feel of Sans’s magic wrap around your exposed SOUL and lift you up into the air, slamming you into the ceiling and then the floor. 

You let out a cry of pain, the only noise that had escaped you since you first walked into this judgement hall with monster dust on your hands. So many LOADS ago… 

Sans’s power receded and you slowly forced yourself up onto your hands and knees and then shakily to your feet. You weren’t sure you had the energy or the DETERMINATION to go back and load again… 

_If you can hit him once, it’ll be over!_

That dark voice in the back of your mind made your head pound mercilessly. 

Sans watched you, his own guilt and anger giving way to the loneliness and hurt that wanted to claim all his will to win against you. Despite his knowledge of the timelines, he only ever had a vague sense of what had happened in other timelines; but he could remember every LOAD in this timeline. Every time you had died, and replayed a battle, trying to wipe out every monster in the Underground. 

“i can still sense the glimmer of a good person inside of you,” Sans finally breathed as you both stared each other down, his eye sockets closing, “somewhere, sometime, you wanted to do the right thing? to make everyone happy?” 

The lights in his eyes died, leaving the pure darkness you came to associate with his deep thinking or being upset. You swallowed hard, those memories of those timelines hitting you hard. 

“what do you say, buddy?” Sans looked almost...hopeful? 

***Sans is sparing you**

You swallowed and looked at him, your hands shaking hard as the knife you held slipped from your hands. 

“Sans,” you whimpered, “Sans, I’m so sorry, I tried….I tried so hard, but I couldn’t-” 

You hiccuped and the wet feeling of tears started to fall down your cheeks. Shock passed over Sans’s face when you fell to your knees, your body shaking from the tears. 

“I...I’m sorry...I’m so sorry!” You sobbed, wrapping your arms around yourself. 

Sans had been prepared to kill you if you lowered your guard, but this...this isn’t what he had expected. Actually being able to reach you? After all the sins you had committed? After every death, including Papyrus’s? Sans didn’t understand it; he couldn’t really remember any other timeline, other than the ones where you had killed and killed mercilessly. 

But your tears...and what you said...Were you just pulling at his leg? 

“...if you’re really sorry, kid,” Sans started to say quietly, “you know what you have to do, right?” 

You nodded, still holding yourself as you sobbed. 

“Kill me, Sans,” you said quietly, pleading, “Kill me and I’ll reset...I’ll try again, I’ll try one more time to make everyone happy...I promise...I promise…” 

You shook and waited for the end, knowing it wouldn’t be quick, knowing it would hurt… 

“...get dunked on, kiddo,” Sans breathed before you heard the gaster blaster beam start to charge up. 


	2. RESET

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These first two chapters were a little on the short side as I set up the premise of story, so hopefully they'll be longer from here on out.
> 
> Hopefully.
> 
> Enjoy!

The comforting darkness that always greeted you after death was never empty. Even the first time you had died, so many years ago, it had still had one other occupant.

Chara.

“I can’t believe you want to _reset_!” The dark spirit hissed.

“I never wanted everyone to hurt,” You said quietly, staring at the save as it hovered in front of you, “I only started to kill everyone because I couldn’t….couldn’t save them…”

“After all the work you put in to kill everyone, you think you can just go back and everything will be fine?” Chara snapped, his hand grabbing your wrist hard enough to hurt, trying to pull your hand toward the CONTINUE option, but you quickly yanked your hand away from him, “Sans is going to remember! He won’t ever forgive you!”

“I...I don’t care,” You slumped to the ground, hunching into yourself, “I don’t deserve forgiveness…”

Chara’s anger stalled as he looked down at you.

When he had first become aware of you and your DETERMINATION, you’d been young--younger than he had been when he fell into the Underground. Now, you were an adult with full curves and borrowed clothes.

“How old are you now?” He tried not to wince at his angry tone.

“I...I don’t know,” You looked up at him, surprised and curious, “I was 6 when I fell the first time….”

You closed your eyes tightly, trying to think clearly. Your trips through the underground had rarely taken long; most times, a straight shot through from the Ruins all the way to Asgore’s throne room took little less than three days. You swallowed.

You’ve been replaying the same three days for _years_ now…

“19…? Maybe older…?” you finally murmured, looking up at the dark spirited child in front of you.

Silence stretched out in front of the both of you for what felt like eons. 13 years or more, you’ve been resetting and going through the Underground. Your DETERMINATION had gotten you through so much, but you were just so, so tired…

“You tried for years,” Chara’s darkness echoed around you and you recognized his somber, almost sad, tone, “I watched you reset over and over, trying to find a way to stop Flowey and keep him from hurting all those idiots...you almost lost your ability to save and reset because of how many times you failed.”

“...I know,” You felt your voice crack, “It...it didn’t take me long to get good at this whole genocide, thing, though...maybe that’s all I’m really good for…?”

Chara--darkness and hatred and anger Chara--froze.

He’d been repeating similar things to her since she was a small child and never had she even given him an inkling that she believed him. Hell, the only reason she’d started genociding everyone was because….

Because…

Chara sighed and not for the first time, he felt his battered and chipped heart quake with the emotions you were washed in.

“No,” He finally said slowly, “No, you tried so hard and you always failed because I worked tirelessly to fuck it up for you; I always said the right thing to make you give up before you realized the truth of it all.”

You started and looked up at the eternal 12 year old standing over you. His brown hair was cut at the shoulders and his bright red eyes were trained on you, watching like the predator he was.

“Wh...what?”

“Reset,” He said, “Reset and I promise you’ll find the happy ending you want for everyone.”

You sniffled and looked at the save again.

“You deserve a happy ending too, Chara…”

His shocked look is the only reaction he has before you reach out and press RESET.


	3. The Ruins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You've made your final reset and find yourself on a bed of yellow flowers. You can feel your DETERMINATION waning and you know, you only have one chance left to save everyone.

The smell of golden flowers is what eventually pulls you out of your slumber.

The light filtering down through the hole you fell into told you that your reset was successful. Even now, so many years later, you remember before you fell into the Underground.

You never had parents, per say, instead you lived with a group of vagabonds who loved each other like family. They had found you, or so they said, and without second thought had raised you in their midsts. Even growing up that way, you understood that it was a strange circumstance, but you’d always felt loved and cared for.

Their nomadic lifestyle meant that a trip up onto Mt. Ebott was neither unusual nor rare. You’d spent many days up on the mountain in the summers of your childhood. It was a peaceful place that offered a cooler climate thanks to the elevation and your family spent their time gathering food from the wild in order to feed the group.

You had fallen when you had tried to reach a blackberry bush on the edge of the chasm that lead to the underground.

To your family, it was currently only seconds after you had fallen, but for you...you hadn’t seen them in years. You couldn’t remember any of their names, nor their faces. It was a sad moment as you laid in the bed of yellow flowers, looking up at the hole above you, knowing that your life had been just 100 feet above you.

You sighed and sat up, rubbing your head as it throbbed gently behind your eyes. Resets always felt like that, but you pushed the pain away and stood, brushing pollen and leaves from your clothing while you prepared yourself for what was to come.

This room held only the yellow flowers, and an archway that would lead you to the start of the long journey to change….to something better, you hoped.

Flowey was exactly where he’d always been when you restarted.

“You were sooo close,” He said in his cutesy voice, but his face was no longer the cartoonish smile you were accustomed to; he looked terrified, “You...You were really gunna kill me, huh?”

“I dunno,” You said quietly, watching him blankly, “Probably; Chara was annoyed with you.”

“Ch-Chara?” Flowey looked distressed, “N-no way! Chara and I are inseparable! He wouldn’t do something like that to _ME_! Why don’t you just DIE!”

His white pellets appeared quickly, as did your SOUL. It was still the same bright red it had always been, but even to your eyes, it looked weak and fragile; it looked more like hollowed glass, than it did a SOUL.

You danced out of the way of his first wave of attacks.

“I’m not lying,” You said calmly, unable to feel much for the flower’s distress, “Chara knows you used to be Asriel and he’s disgusted that you let yourself get to where you are.”

Bullets surrounded you and your soul and you watched them slowly start to close in.

“You...Your....” Flowey’s leaves and petals trembled as he hesitated in his mission to kill you.

On cue, a ball of flame appeared and hit Flowey, making him shudder and quickly disappear below the ground.

“What a despicable creature, torturing such a poor innocent youth,” The soft voice made you take a shaky breath, “My name is Toriel and I am the caretaker of the Ruins.”

You didn’t even need to look at her to know that the tall goat woman was watching you with gentle kindness. Her large paw reached out and gently touched your face.

“Child, you don’t need to cry,” She said soothingly, “You’re safe now.”

You looked up at her face, those gentle red eyes and her large ears familiar and yet seeming so foreign...how long had it been since you had stopped to actually look at her before you killed her in previous attempts…?

A short sob left you and you launched yourself into her arms, gripping her purple tunic tightly as you cried into the front of her; she was so tall that even your adult self only came up to her waist. Your whole body trembled as you sobbed.

“I’m sorry...I’m so sorry,” You heard yourself moan into her shirt, but it was obvious Toriel didn’t know what you were saying.

“Shh...child, there’s no reason for you to be sorry,” She said, her voice a gentle timbre kindness that struck you so deep in your chest that you couldn’t help but cry more.

It was a little while before you were able to stop the tears long enough for you to breathe properly. The whole while, Toriel stood with you in the darkness gently rubbing your back and whispering comforts only a mother could say.

“Do you feel a little better, child?” She finally asked when your sobs had quieted.

“Y-yes,” you nodded and finally pulled away, wiping your eyes.

“Good,” She smiled and gently stroked your face before reaching down to hold your hand, “Come with me, child and I will show you your new home here in the Ruins.”

A smile crept over your face. Toriel lead you through the ruins and taught you the same old puzzles all over again, but you didn’t mind. It was so good to have her back…

“Mom,” You finally said after she lead you through the spiked floor puzzle.

“O-oh!” You could see the blush through her fur, “Would...would that make you happy? To call me mother?”

You smiled up at her and nodded, “Yeah….I want to call you mom.”

Toriel looked positively giddy as she lead you into the next area. You remembered enough about this room to remember why she was leaving you all on your own and you waited patiently until she walked away before you slowly started to walk the same path.

_You know better than to drag all of this out, right?_

Chara’s dark voice sent a chill and almost made you trip. You swallowed and tried to ignore him. It had been so long since you could remember freely accepting Toriel’s affection and after feeling so alone for so long…

_If you get too attached all over again, doesn’t that defeat the purpose of all of this? Flowey will win all over again if they come to your rescue._

You swallowed thickly and stopped just short of the pillar, your eyes watching it for a long moment before you closed your eyes tightly and moved to walk past it.

“Very good, my child!” Toriel’s praise almost hurt as she came out of her hiding place, “I’m sorry I had to do that to you, but I had to know you’d be ok while I was gone; I have a few errands to run and you will need to be ok on your own.”

You nodded and accepted the old flip phone that the older goat handed to you.

Before she could get far, you called out, “Butterscotch; I prefer that, but I do like cinnamon.”

Her whole body froze for a moment and when she turned to look at you, she looked...confused? Horrified? Curious?

You couldn’t really tell.

“H...how?” Her voice was quiet.

“We’ve done this before, mom,” You said sadly, your eyes closing so you wouldn’t have to face her as you continued, “I know you have that sense of deja vu, right? That question that shouldn’t I look, shouldn’t I _be_ younger...right?”

There was no sound for a long moment and you finally opened your eyes to look at her.

Toriel stood in the doorway, watching you with a look you could only describe as realization and horror.

“The...the last time you saw me,” You choked, “I didn’t even let you finish baking your pie when I killed you in your reading chair…”

Tears had started to fall down your cheeks again, “I...I'm sorry, mom; I’m so sorry, I hurt you and so many others and I can’t let you walk away right now without telling you…”

Toriel had no idea what to say or even what to do. You were right; she had a sense of deja vu, just from your presence alone; and leading you through all these puzzles had almost made her giddy in the same way sharing an inside joke with the voice on the other side of the door did...and hadn’t she already expected you to call her mom?

“Frisk, I-” Toriel froze as soon as she spoke. She realized she said a name that you had never given her.

You watched her pointedly, “That is my name; and you knew it the same way you know I’m not lying.”

Toriel swallowed, one of her paws coming up to touch her face as she tried to take in what you were insinuating.

“Frisk, do you mean to tell me we’ve lived this moment before…?”

“Not this specific one,” You admitted quietly, “I’ve never told you before.”

A headache started to grip the edges of Toriel’s reality and her hand gripped her face a little tighter, “Frisk, I do not understand how any of that would be possible-”

“Magic,” You cut her off with your firm and gentle voice, “The same way you use your fire magic to cook, or your healing magic to care, I have always been able to...RESET...this place, back to square one.”

“My child, I-” Toriel stopped her next argument in favor of training an unfavorable eye on you, “You...hurt a lot of people, didn’t you?”

You couldn’t stop the tears at this point, though they didn’t fall down your cheeks, “...I hurt a lot of people, very badly...over and over and over…” your voice got quiet as you repeated ‘and over’ continuously, your eyes growing wider as you could clearly picture each and every reset that had lead you to this point.

It was a split second that you noticed your SOUL was hovering in front of you before you saw the fireballs racing toward you and your heart. You leapt to one side, then dropped to the floor to avoid taking the damage and your eyes met with Toriel’s angry red ones.

“What is your purpose this time?” She demanded.

“I...I don’t want to hurt anyone anymore,” You choked out, rolling out of the way when another round of fire was launched at you, “I just wanted...everyone’s happy ending-”

“By killing?” Toriel’s voice was icy and her glare set.

_What was the point in telling her everything, Frisk? Now she’s going to kill you and you haven’t even SAVED yet!_

You ignored Chara’s voice as you dodged and spun.

Without warning, a wall of fire rose behind you and your cried out as the fire hit your back and your legs, singeing and burning.

“I...I won’t hurt you, Toriel,” It wasn’t a pleading notion, or a cry for peace; it was simply a statement, left to hang in the air while fire and pain were pushed upon you.

“Fight or Run, child,” Toriel almost snarled, “You have betrayed my trust, and harmed those I only wish to protect.”

“I won’t,” You said, stumbling to one side and giving a weak cry when another wall of fire was put up on your right and left, your arm catching it, “I won’t hurt anyone, no matter how many times it hurts...no matter how many times I die…”

Toriel’s face suddenly dropped in surprise, even as her next attack flew toward you.

“My child...How...how many times have we met?”

“I don’t remember,” You stumbled to your knees, weakly looking up at the next round of fireballs that hovered over the former Queen, “It has been a very...very long time since I fell the first time, Mom...I was only a kid when I did and here I am, an adult still trying to fix something that so many have told me is unfixable…”

The next wave of fire flew toward you and you closed your eyes, knowing you didn’t have the energy to dodge again and this would be the end of this run and you already knew…

You didn’t have the DETERMINATION to try and reset again.

But nothing hit you. You looked up and watched as the fire flew toward you...then drifted off it's mark flying harmlessly to the side. Your eyes drifted tiredly up to Toriel’s face and you watched the confusion and the inner battle she was facing.

“...Go,” She finally said, your SOUL slipping back into your chest as she stepped to one side, refusing to look at you, “Leave these ruins and never come back.”

You swallowed hard, tears falling again as you shakily stood. All you wanted was to try and reach her again; you wanted someone to understand everything you had tried to do...but you let your head droop before you slowly walked past the only monster--the only person--that you’d wanted and needed to call ‘mom’ since you fell.

Leaving the long hallway, you saw the dimly lit star that marked a SAVE POINT, but a lot of you didn’t want to even get close to it. What was the use? You had resolved to do what you had to do to save everyone from the Underground, even those lost souls who seemed so lost to their own salvation. You glanced back at Toriel to find she hadn’t moved and still wouldn’t look at you.

Your mouth felt dry.

_You have to save, Frisk; you can’t just stand here and wait for her to change her mind._

Chara sounded angry, but even his heated tones couldn’t spur you to do more than slowly turn to the SAVE POINT and just as slowly reach out for it.

The playful sound of the crunching of leaves….it fills you with...LONELINESS.

You watched as your HP raised only slightly: Toriel had brought it down to 3/20, and instead of the checkpoint healing you completely--as it was want to do previously--it only healed your HP to 11/20.

You swallowed and concentrated as hard as you could to make your save. The process exhausted you and you had to lower yourself into the pile of orange-red leaves to catch your breath.

You hissed in pain as you tried to stand and realized the worst of your burns were still on your skin, making you feel dizzy and battered. You glanced down and pressed your lips together when you saw that the save point had disappeared.

_What? Why can’t you SAVE here anymore??_

You ignored Chara in favor of turning to look at Toriel again. She was watching you with narrowed eyes, but there was a concerned frown on her face.

_Stop ignoring me!_

Chara huffed and you could almost see him stamp his foot in annoyance. He felt your longing for Toriel and her motherly love before he scoffed.

_Leave her; she’s so kind, she’ll torture herself for letting you walk away without any attempt to help you._

He seemed pleased with that thought, but it only made you tremble.

“Toriel,” You said slowly, “Please, I know I’ve hurt you by making you remember those past resets and all the times I’d….hurt you…”

She didn’t respond and simply watched you with a face blank of expression.

“I came back...for this one last RESET,” You continued, “I promise, I will find _everyone's_ happiness and we’ll all leave the Underground and go to the surface!”

With your declaration, you felt your DETERMINATION grow.

Toriel didn’t respond, nor did her expression change.

Despite that, you turned and continued deeper into the ruins, set on your destination at the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folkies~
> 
> I hope you all are enjoying this story, as its my first Undertale fanfic :3
> 
> Comments and constructive criticism is always appreciated!


	4. A Nightmare

~~A flash of a blade, exhaustion from using too much of his magic, pain, bone deep and raw because of Papyrus’s death…~~

~~“Get dunked on, kiddo.”~~

~~A body, bloody and beaten, laying on the floor in a growing pool of blood; horror as he realized with each passing minute that the timeline hadn't RESET yet. He remembered her tired face, the tears and pleading face, begging him to try and understand…~~

“BROTHER! YOU ARE STILL ASLEEP AND IT'S PAST NOON; DO NOT MAKE ME ATTEMPT AT ENTERING YOUR ROOM AGAIN!”

Sans bolted upright at the loud voice coming from the other side of his door. He could feel the cold sweat pouring over his skull, his body feeling simultaneously overcharged with magic and weak at the same time.

“SANS…?”

Sans hasn't answered yet and he swallowed hard to keep his tone even.

“sorry, bro; i’m just bone tired.”

“I’M LEAVING FOR SENTRY DUTY; YOU’RE LATE AND I WON'T COVER FOR YOU TO UNDYNE.”

Even Papyrus’s exasperation couldn't bring a smile to Sans’s face.

With a sigh and a groan of exhaustion, Sans was able to roll out of bed. Since it was a new RESET, he figured he would have a few hours...maybe...until she came from the ruins and everything in him wanted to stay home, stay asleep…

He couldn’t handle watching you kill Papyrus again. It never helped to interfere, it just RESET the timeline all over again and that meant more nightmares, more headaches, more….

Besides that, he still had to meet with Toriel for their daily meeting through the door, and he had to make that damn promise that it seemed like he could never keep for her because that damn kid always came through with their knife swinging…

He had to take a deep breath when he realized his magic was burning in his right eye.

“shit,” Sans muttered under his breath.

Today was going to be a long day.

~*~

Today, however, changed.

He sat in front of that door, knocking every few minutes, for hours. Every now and then, he felt a blip to indicate that you had returned to a previous SAVE and that unsettled him the same way it always had. He would lose minutes or even whole hours as he waited for the time for you to emerge, and it started to get worrisome.

You had never died this many times in the Ruins before. Toriel was there to guide you, wasn’t she? In fact, where was Toriel? She always had the time to stop by and trade jokes with him before you came out or killed her. He winced at how easily he’d thought of that.

The fact remained, neither she or you had made an appearance.

He was just about to decide whether he should just leave and wait in his appointed place hidden among the trees--where he always waited for you, no matter which version of you appeared from behind the door--when he heard someone calling his name.

“SANS! SANS, BROTHER, WHERE ARE YOU?”

Sans blinked slowly before he stood and started walking toward the wooden bridge that lead to his actual sentry station. Papyrus met him before he could even pass the heavy log that crossed the path.

“hey bro, what’s up?” Sans shoved his hands into his jacket’s pockets, watching Papyrus carefully, though he disguised it as his usual lazy disposition.

“BROTHER, I--THE GREAT PAPYRUS--HAVE BEEN HAVING A STRANGE FEELING ALL MORNING AND I DECIDED TO MEET WITH YOU AND DISCUSS IF IT IS A VALID CONCERN.”

It was the slight drop in Papyrus’s tone that brought Sans to take this concern seriously. Papyrus had never been aware of the RESETS or even the small jumps of you reloading your SAVEs, but the huge number of them during this timeline…

“what sort of strange feeling, bro? Feeling chilled to your bones?” Sans stared up at his brother; Papyrus had been twice as tall as Sans for a long time now and despite Sans being the older brother, neither of them had questioned the development.

Papyrus didn’t react to Sans’s bad pun, but instead shuffled in his battle body armor and Sans realized how put off Papyrus was. His brother never acted nervous without something being very very wrong.

After a moment of Papyrus not answering, Sans prodded, “paps?”

“BROTHER, I FEEL AS IF I HAVE DONE MANY THINGS TODAY,” Papyrus said, trying to explain, “I HAVE CALIBRATED ALL OF MY PUZZLES, PATROLLED MY ROUTE, PLANNED FOR UNDYNE AND I TO HAVE OUR NEXT TRAINING SESSION, AND I EVEN SORTED AND RESHELVED MY BOOKS TWICE TODAY, BUT I…”

There was a pause and it was heavy between them both, before Papyrus said, “I FEEL AS IF I HAVE LIVE THIS MORNING MANY TIMES TODAY; I RECALIBRATED MY PUZZLES ONLY TO TURN AROUND AND SEE THAT THEY REMAIN UNTOUCHED. I ANSWERED UNDYNE’S PHONE CALL AND SPOKE JOVIALLY TO HER FOR MANY MINUTES, BUT THEN IT SEEMED AS IF SHE CALLED ME AGAIN AND WE SPOKE AGAIN OF THE SAME THINGS…”

Sans felt his stomach drop as Papyrus kept speaking. Papyrus was noticing the RELOADs? If he was starting to remember those...then what else was he going to remember? Would he remember waking Sans up the same way he did this morning over and over…? Would he remember you?

Would he remember being killed by you?

That thought made him feel sick, but before he could comment or think of anything to say to his younger brother, both of them heard the unmistakable rumble of the door behind Sans starting to open.

Sans flipped around quickly, panic settling in his bones. You had spent so many timelines killing and looking for a fight that all Sans could assume is that you were here and he wasn’t ready to lose Papyrus all over again, not when his younger brother was showing signs that he might actually remember being butchered by you-

His mind froze when he saw you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a cliffhanger of sorts (I promise I'll get the next chapter up as soon as possible!) and a sneak view into how things are starting to change for this final RESET!
> 
> I have a new Undertale story up, [Hell is a Place on the Surface](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6776788), so please read it an enjoy! I'm going to try and keep up with the two of them for the time being and I would appreciate feedback.
> 
> Comments are always appreciated!


	5. A Change of SOUL

_You aren’t don’t anyone any favors by letting yourself get hit like that._

Chara’s snide voice echoed in your head as you shuffled toward Toriel’s home. You’d run across Whimsuns, and Froggits, both of which you were able to befriend with a kind word and by refusing to take up any arms.

The real problem had started with Napstablook.

In every previous timeline, you hadn’t been able to kill him because he was a ghost, but on more than one occasion you’d run across him after you killed Mettaton…

Now, in this timeline, you could only stare down at him as he laid in your path, trying convince you he was asleep. After a long while of just staring at him, Napstablook had finally initiated the fight, his tears attacking you and burning your skin even as you slowly tried to get out of the way.

_AT LEAST GET OUT OF THE WAY!_

Chara had screamed in your ear, tried to forcibly take control, pleaded with you, but…

You deserved this, didn’t you? For years you had run and rerun your genocide, you barely remembered any other timeline at this point, and you couldn’t deny the voice in your head that told you that the pain was yours to bear.

Napstablook had killed you four times before Chara had convinced you that there was no way you could save anyone if you couldn’t at least save yourself.

You collapsed when Napstablook finally phased through the nearest wall. Your body felt burned and bruised, but you swallowed hard and stood up.

_You’re going to have to find a place to heal yourself…_

The concern laced in Chara’s voice almost made you laugh, “Suddenly so interested in my well-being, Chara?”

Your voice sounded weak and broken, but you ignored it in favor of moving into the next room, knowing without looking that the Spider Bake Sale was in full swing. You didn’t bother to count the amount of gold you carried, and instead just gently placed your whole pouch down, accepting a Spider Donut, but shaking your head when they tried to give you more.

“No,” You said quietly, smiling down at the spiders, “Consider the rest of it a donation or something…”

You didn’t stay to see their reaction, but instead moved toward the hallway that would lead you farther into the ruins and closer to Toriel’s house. You ate the donut slowly, happy to feel a little more of your energy returned to you, but with a glance you realized that your wounds were still there.

_You have to find another SAVE star; it will help you heal._

“I don’t think it will anymore,” You said quietly, your feet shuffling as you pressed forward. You hoped you wouldn’t get into another fight, but you knew it was inevitable.

Chara didn’t speak again and you were about to ask if he’d left you when a Froggit started a battle with you.

You swallowed hard; if you died here, you’d return all the way to before Napstablook…

Instead, you tried to smile, “You’re a lovely shade of green!”

The frog blushed, though it still looked confused. You hoped that would be the end, but your SOUL suddenly appeared in front of you, surrounded by white fly-like lights. You had to throw yourself from one way to the next to avoid their sporadic flight patterns and you were happy to see them disappear as you felt your legs give out underneath you.

The Froggit looked confused as you panted harshly, swallowing to try and clear your throat.

“D-don’t worry about me, little guy,” You smiled, but had to fight your eyelids drooping too low, “J-just run along and stay safe, ok?”

He still didn’t look like he understood you, but he didn’t attack you again as he hopped away, ribbiting pleasantly while you tried to maintain your consciousness.

_You can’t go to sleep here; someone will come across you and kill you!_

Chara’s voice made you smile, “You...only care...because...I promised...to save...you…”

It was a joke in poor taste, and so it was no surprise that Chara growled in frustration. You put your hands on the ground in front of you and slowly began to do the work of pushing yourself up to a standing position. Once you did, you had to lean against the wall to keep yourself upright.

“Don’t worry, Chara,” you whispered, sliding forward along the wall, “I won’t...give up; not until everyone is happy…”

You pushed away from the wall tentatively and a smile appeared when you turned the corner and saw Toriel’s house come into view. The star in front of her house warmed your chilled body, but you knew that your HP remained the same as after you ate that Spider Donut: 7/20.

If you weren’t in such a hurry, you would have waited for Toriel to come back and let you in, but you didn’t bother; either she wouldn’t be back for a long long time or she wouldn't let you in if you asked. Either way, you couldn’t be hampered by her.

The smell of Butterscotch and cinnamon was absent, as was the warmth that had been here so many times in your past. It almost felt like a dream now as you walked toward the stairs that led downstairs. You could almost hear her reciting facts about snails, and feel the warmth of her fireplace.

You stumbled and fell a few steps onto the middle landing, your hands and knees stinging and you felt the bone-deep ache of the impact.

Your mind was still on the sound of Toriel’s slow humming, a song you had never heard sung but made your heart ache anyway. The taste of a warm meal made in love, the feel of her motherly arms wrap around you, calling you ‘My child’ with such a deep love that you felt tears threaten to appear before you forced yourself to a stand.

The hallway seemed longer than before, or maybe it was the halting, painful steps that you were taking. You felt your breathing coming out in short panting breaths, and your head started to pound harshly. The door at the end blurred for a moment, but you smiled.

Flowey wasn’t waiting for you here and you at least were thankful for that. He could have killed you many many times before you would be able to get past him...if you ever could. Still, you pressed onward and felt the chill as you got closer and closer to the end of the ruins….

“--ONLY TO TURN AROUND AND SEE THAT THEY REMAIN UNTOUCHED. I ANSWERED UNDYNE’S PHONE CALL AND SPOKE JOVIALLY TO HER FOR MANY MINUTES, BUT THEN IT SEEMED AS IF SHE CALLED ME AGAIN AND WE SPOKE AGAIN OF THE SAME THINGS…”

Papyrus’s voice was so loud, you could hear it through the thick stone of the door as you pressed your hands against it and tried to push. You pressed your lips together and leaned harder into it, a small bit of frustration pooling in your SOUL when it wouldn’t budge at first. You swallowed and tried again, relief washing you as it started to open.

Both Papyrus and Sans were waiting a little ways down the path, both staring at you in shock. Sans felt his jaw drop and took an unconscious step toward you.

You were obviously in pain. He could see the bruise starting to form under your left eye, and the split lip that still had stained blood beneath it. Your clothes were singed, and red angry burns were apparent against your skin. He glanced toward your chest and a flash of color hit him, but it made him choke.

Your vibrant red was muddy and scarred. He saw you only had 7 HP left and he glanced at the door behind you; had Toriel done this?

“Sans...Papyrus,” you said it almost too quiet to hear at their distance, but the smile that appeared nearly broke Sans’s heart and made Papyrus gasp, “It’s good to see...you both safe….”

Tears had gathered in your eyes and they started to fall, but you couldn’t finish the sentence; your trembling legs gave out and darkness swallowed you.

Your name was said, but Sans realized that he wasn’t the one who said it.

“Paps,” Sans looked at his younger brother, a question on his tongue before he shook his head, “We need to get her back to the house, Papyrus.”

Papyrus hesitated, looking down at Sans for a moment before nodding.

They both approached you, and without much fuss, took you back to Snowdin and to their home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted a good clean cut chapter to get the reader through the ruins, so I hope this doesn't feel rushed.
> 
> Comments are always appreciated!


	6. He Knows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello folks~
> 
> New chapter for this story and also an announcement!  
> I now have a tumblr for this and my other Undertale fanfic! Please feel free to visit: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/)
> 
> BTW, I suck at tumblr, so please be nice with how ugly it is right now 8D

“SANS, I KNOW THIS HUMAN FROM….SOMEWHERE.”

Sans and Papyrus were currently safe in their home; both hovered over the couch, where you were still laying unconcious. Neither had spoken for a long while.

After you had collapsed in the snow, Papyrus hadn’t thought twice to jump forward and frantically declare that they were going to take you home and nurse you back to health--the memory of it made Sans want to laugh; his brother was so cool, and he was kind. Kind enough to be taken advantage of, and treated like an idiot.

“yeah, i know you do, paps,” Sans answered after a moment of hesitation. He felt so tired and confused--this timeline had changed so drastically and it had only been RESET a couple of hours ago, “it's a long story, bro; and honestly, you might not like hearing it.”

Papyrus paused and considered his brother’s words, studying the smaller skeleton. Deep bags had appeared under Sans’s eyes, and while Papyrus had just sort of accepted them he realized that yesterday they hadn’t been there hardly at all. In fact, a lot of things felt like they had changed drastically overnight, but he had simply not noticed.

“WHAT’S HAPPENING, BROTHER? DOES IT INVOLVE THIS HUMAN?”

Sans hesitated, looking down at your sleeping form. The fact was, it had everything to do with you.

“yeah...yeah, it does,” He sighed and rubbed his forehead with a bony hand, “i don’t even know where to start…”

“THE BEGINNING WOULD BE MOST HELPFUL,” Papyrus supplied.

A choked laugh left Sans, and Papyrus actually looked worried, “paps, this...this is something big; i honestly don’t even know where it starts…”

With that admission, Papyrus did what he did best, “THEN THIS CALLS FOR HOT CHOCOLATE AND A LONG MOMENT FOR DRAMATIC PAUSE AND THOUGHT COLLECTING; COME! TO THE KITCHEN!!”

Without even checking to see if Sans was following, Papyrus launched himself toward the kitchen and Sans could hear the sound of Papyrus starting to make said hot chocolate.

Sans hesitated, his eye sockets empty at the thought that he’d have to tell Papyrus everything...but if Papyrus was going to remember it anyway, wouldn’t it be better to hear it from his older brother first? That thought didn’t comfort him any as he slowly made his way into the kitchen.

Each step was like trudging through a mire and his path felt like a death sentence. How could he admit to his brother what he’d done? Even in the name of defending Papyrus, in getting _vengeance_ in Papyrus’s name?

He stopped in the archway, staring into the kitchen without his normal lights in his eye sockets. He didn’t want to take another step, everything in him wanted to leave the house and just have a moment to _think_ and try to figure out why things had changed and what that would mean. He wouldn’t leave, though.

You were here, in his house; and the fact that he had no idea if you were the same as the last timeline, or if you really were different….he couldn’t risk Papyrus like that.

Sans let out an unsteady sigh and moved to help his brother.

“NO, I INSIST YOU SIT DOWN AND COLLECT YOUR THOUGHTS; I WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS TROUBLING YOU, BROTHER.”

Sans hesitated again, but this time Papyrus picked up his older brother and set him gently in a chair at the table, before he turned back and continued his work in the kitchen. A lump formed in Sans’s throat and he had no idea what he was going to tell Papyrus. Every time he tried to focus on it, all he could think about was whether or not Papyrus would remember what it was like to be dusted.

It wasn’t until a steaming cup of brown liquid was put in front of him that Sans realized he really had no idea what to say and what to leave out.

So he decided to tell all of it, just like he knew it.

“paps,” Sans started after a moment of silence overtook the brothers, “what do you remember of our dad?”

~*~

_I can’t believe you_ fainted _, like some kind of weakling!_

Chara’s voice echoed loudly around you and it was a moment before you had to remember that you weren’t back at the RESET button; you were simply asleep, as far as you could tell. You glanced to one side and then the other, but the darkness overtook everything.

Everything except for the glowing body standing not far off to your left; the yellow and green sweater, as well as the creepy smile let you know it was Chara, in the flesh--well, almost.

“I always forget how young you actually are,” You said, wrapping your arms around yourself.

_I’m older than most Monsters, so watch it!_ Chara’s mouth didn’t move when he spoke, but his voice came out loud and clear, _And you’re only older than me in body, so don’t act all high and mighty._

“Hardly,” You laughed bitterly, “...You think Sans is going to just kill me before I can wake up again?”

_Well, you aren’t dead yet_ , Chara’s head tilted to one side, his smile still in place, _You’ve only been out for an hour or so, but from what I can hear, the smiling trashbag is trying to smooth things with his brother; sounds like Papyrus is starting to remember the RESETs too._

Chara almost sounded sickeningly amused by that.

“No...Papy,” You choked and turned in a circle, trying to figure out how to wake up, “I don’t...he can’t...I don’t want him to remember what I’ve done! He’d never believe in me ever again!”

_Stop panicking, you tw-_

Chara’s voice cut off as the darkness started to fade into a blinding light. You’re ears started to tune into the waking world, and Sans smooth baritone tones lulled your panicked feelings as you started to wake up.

~*~

“OUR FATHER?” Papyrus put a hand to his chin, his eyes closing in deep thought, “I REMEMBER HE WAS ALWAYS BUSY...AND HE SPOKE IN THAT LANGUAGE YOU SOMETIMES USE WHEN YOU’RE UPSET.”

Sans nodded slowly, his skeletal hands holding the mug in front of him so tightly that he could feel the heat through the mug; it was starting to hurt, but he couldn’t bring himself to let go.

“yeah, that’s right; it's...uh...it's called ‘wingdings’,” Sans made the conscious choice to switch languages and his voice came out in a subtle airy clicks, whistles, and noises that made up the language of their father, “ _it’s not hard to understand, if you listen very closely; even for people who’ve never learned the language._ ”

Papyrus hesitated, watching Sans as if he could almost read something coming off of him.

“I THINK I UNDERSTAND…” His voice was uncharacteristically quiet, but it returned as he continued, “BUT SANS, WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH OUR FATHER?”

“i suspect everything,” Sans sighed, “dr. gaster was a brilliant royal scientist, but he also was...reckless.”

Papyrus seemed to accept the fact that their father was Gaster easily, “DO YOU MEAN BECAUSE OF HIS FALLING INTO THE CORE?”

“it was more than that, paps,” Sans looked down at his hands and tried not to fidget too much, “dad did a bunch of reckless things before the whole core incident.”

“you gotta understand, bro, everyone down here doesn’t take to being trapped the same way you do; almost everyone was--is--holding on by a thread. everyone wants to be free and out on the surface, not _trapped_ down here like trash,” Sans had to take a moment to calm down before he continued, “dad was trying to make a way for everyone to get out of the underground, because who knew when the next human would fall down here, right? he worked tirelessly, testing and experimenting on the other souls, trying to isolate what was so different between a monster’s heart and a human’s heart...and things got...desperate from what alphys has told me…”

“DESPERATE?” Papyrus had been quiet during his brother’s explanation, but couldn’t stop himself, “WHAT DID HE DO, SANS?”

“he...he tried to turn his own monster heart into a human heart.”

There was a stunned silence in the house as Papyrus tried to absorb what Sans had just said.

“HOW...HOW WOULD HE EVEN DO THAT?”

“by injecting himself with the traits of all of the human souls, plus another trait that he’d been able to extract on his own,” Sans seemed to sink in on himself, “according to alphys, after he’d been injected with everything, he began to scream uncontrollably and the next thing anyone knew, dad had thrown himself into the core.”

Silence overtook everything again and when Sans finally looked up at his brother, Papyrus had bright orange tears gathered in the corner of his eyes.

“BROTHER, WHY...WHY HAVE YOU NOT TOLD ME OF THIS SOONER?” Papyrus’s voice was still booming through the house, but Sans could hear the decreased volume and it left a pit in his stomach.

“i wasn’t trying to keep it from you, paps,” Sans said miserably, “it just hurt so much when it happened, and i had to focus on keeping you safe and alive and by the time i realized it, suddenly you were all grown up and you’d never asked where dad was; it was just...easier...to leave it buried.”

Papyrus considered him in a long moment of silence that left Sans sure that his brother was about to be angry. His mind conjured up images of Papyrus being angry enough to walk away, move out, abandon him, do something stupid...all the possibilities mired his thoughts until Papyrus actually spoke.

“What does dad’s death have to do with why I remember seeing that human before?”

Papyrus’s voice was so quiet that Sans thought some stranger had snuck into the house and his head had to snap up to stare at his brother so that he could see that it was indeed Papyrus who spoke.

Sans tried not to gape, and forced his thoughts together before he cleared his throat.

“well, alphys is the new royal scientist; she’s based a lot of her own research on top of dad’s from what i can tell,” Sans said, trying to decide what to say and what to leave ambiguous, “she focused on a trait called ‘determination’, though. she was convinced that it was this trait that would break the barrier over all the others; there’s not really a way to tell if she was right or not. she stopped her experiments not long after starting, and she left a lot of questions behind her.”

Papyrus looked curious, but Sans was happy his brother didn’t interrupt again; if he spoke that quietly again, Sans was sure he’d break, or go insane.

“anyway,” Sans looked down at his hands again, “one experiment she ran was on a flower. a small yellow flower.”

Papyrus’s face fell, but Sans didn’t see it as he trudged on, “this flower has been around for a long….long time, i wager; i have vague memories of seeing him in more than one timeline-”

Sans was cut off when Papyrus asked, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN TIMELINE?”

Perhaps because they were no longer on the subject of their father, or maybe because Papyrus really did bounce back that quickly, but his voice was almost back to normal. It would have been a comfort, except for the question he had asked.

“paps, i...i don’t know how to explain them that would make much sense,” Sans said desperately quiet, “i can remember thousands--no, _hundreds_ of thousands--of timelines and even I don’t quite get it…”

“It’s an ancient magic.”

The new voice made both of the brothers jump. Papyrus actually fell backwards in his chair, his legs hanging in the air almost comically while he drew in a long and loud gasp.

Sans whirled around in his chair to meet your gaze. You were sitting on the couch quietly, your hands folded in your lap while you watched them both calmly. Your face looked exhausted and your body leaned almost heavily into the arm of the chair.

“Hey, Sans,” You smiled weakly, though it didn’t reach your eyes.


	7. Another Change

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is coming out a little later than I'd like, but I have to adult, so that means chapters are probably going to start being delayed, bleh
> 
> Comments help motivation, so any and all would be appreciated! Please feel free to visit my tumblr and leave an ask as well~
> 
> [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/)

Black armor gleamed in the darkly lit caverns of Waterfall; the darkness suited her just as well as any other place. All she needed was a human in her sights…

Undyne conjured a spear and threw it across the room. It pierced through the middle of an echo flower and pinned it against the wall. A smile spread across her face, though her armored facade kept her expression covered.

A buzzing in her side pack caught her attention and she pulled off one of her gauntlets in order to reach into it and pull out her phone. An eyebrow rose; why was Alphys calling?

She pulled off her helmet and answered the call.

“What’s up, nerd?” She asked affectionately.

“U-Undyne,” Alphys’s voice immediately put Undyne on alert.

“Hey,” Undyne glanced sideways as if she could see the phone in her hand, “You sound terrified, what’s wrong?”

“Th-there’s a h-h-human, U-Undyne,” Alphys squeaked and breathed hard, “Th-they’re i-i-in P-Papyrus’s house a-and-”

Undyne was already moving toward Snowdin, “And what, Alph?”

“Th-there’s m-more...”

~*~

“HUMAN,” Papyrus had picked himself up off the ground and was righting the chair, “YOU HAVE WOKEN UP! MY BROTHER AND I WERE JUST DISCUSSING WHY YOU LOOKED SO FAMILIAR TO ME!”

“Yes, I heard about Gaster,” You said, your eyes moving down to the burns that were still on your arms.

Sans wasn’t sure what he felt or how he wanted to react. The previous timeline wasn’t as clear to him, but he remembered enough to know that you had RESET the whole timeline with some kind of promise...but how did he know you weren’t just going to start killing all over again?

“THEN PERHAPS YOU CAN FINISH EXPLAINING WHY I KNOW WHO YOU ARE, HUMAN.”

Papyrus hadn’t sat back down and instead actually was moving closer to you.

“pap, don’t-” Sans started to say, but Papyrus was already at your side, offering you a hand to help you stand.

You stared at his gloved hand before looking up at the tall skeleton. Tears started to gather in the corner of your eyes, “I...I’m afraid.”

“NONESENSE, HUMAN!” Papyrus put his other hand on his chest, “I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM A FAIR AND NOBLE MONSTER WHO WILL NOT HARM YOU; PLEASE, LET ME HELP YOU TO THE TABLE SO THAT WE MAY CONTINUE!”

Instead of it doing what he expected--which was to make you smile and stop crying--you did the opposite. The tears started to fall; you put a hand to your mouth and a small sob escaped.

“I...I’m sorry,” You broke out, “I’m sorry.”

Papyrus looked confused, and opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted.

A loud banging at the door broke the silence and all three of them jumped at the sound.

“PAPYRUS, SANS!”

“Undyne,” Your voice escaped quietly.

“OPEN UP!”

Papyrus started for the door, but froze at her next words.

“OPEN UP AND GIVE UP THE HUMAN! ALPHYS ALREADY TOLD ME YOU TWO ARE KEEPING HER HIDDEN FROM ME, SO OPEN UP!”

Sans stood first and looked between Papyrus and you, seeming to make a decision, “this little party of ours is gunna have to take a rain check.”

With that, he moved over--faster than Papyrus had ever seen his brother move--and grabbed Papyrus’s hand before reaching out and grabbing your shoulder.

“don’t move!”

The door was kicked in just at that moment and Undyne rushed into the room, black armor gleaming from the light reflecting off of the perpetual snow of Snowden. A spear materialized in her hand and you flinched, closing your eyes.

But the hit never came. Instead, you fell a short distance and your butt met snow. Sans followed right after, falling onto his hands and knees, panting harshly.

“d-damn, guess taking more than one person really does make a difference,” Sans’s voice sounded weaker and you could see the sweat beading up on his skull.

“BROTHER! YOU MUST BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR MAGIC,” Papyrus was already picking Sans up and tucking him under an arm, “I SWEAR, IF YOU WEREN’T SO LAZY, THAT JUMP MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN SO HARD.”

You stood as well and realized that Sans had only managed to get the three of you to the edge of Snowden, on the way to Waterfall. Papyrus, seemingly oblivious to the danger Undyne posed, didn’t react when Undyne’s voice echoed across Snowden, cries of fury and irritation.

“Papyrus, we have to go,” You grabbing the hand that wasn’t holding Sans and pulled, though the taller skeleton was planted firmly in the snow.

“THERE IS NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT, HUMAN,” Papyrus started to turn toward their house and you had to lean away to get him to stop, “I’M SURE IF WE EXPLAIN TO UNDYNE THE SITUATION, SHE WILL SEE THAT SHE IS OVERREACTING.”

“paps, she’s right,” Sans piped up from under Papyrus’s arm, “we have to go; undyne’s gunna probably kill all three of us at this rate; she wasn’t aiming that spear just at her.”

Papyrus looked down at his brother, then at you and finally at the house, which the sounds of Undyne’s rage were echoing.

“IF YOU SAY SO, BROTHER,” Papyrus sounded unsure, but started to turn away and let you lead him toward Waterfall.

“WAIT RIGHT THERE!”

You both froze and you looked back to see Undyne running out of the house, spears hovering over her as she started to chase you both.

“RUN!” You screamed, holding Papyrus’s hand tightly as you pulled him into Waterfall. The sound of water and rain replaced the echoing sounds of running feet and Undyne’s yelling. Luckily for the three of you, Undyne’s armor did slow her down enough that by the time you both reached the wooden bridges, her spears were easier to dodge.

“STOP RUNNING AND FIGHT! I KNOW WHAT YOU DID, HUMAN!” she screamed.

You swallowed hard and screamed back, “I don’t want to fight!”

“BULLSHIT!”

“UNDYNE IS VERY DETERMINED TO CATCH US,” Papyrus didn’t sound panicked at all and that made you uneasy.

The maze of platforms had always been annoying to you; usually it meant Undyne was going to try and shoot spears from below you, but now you had to drag and move Papyrus through it without letting either of you--or Sans, though he was safe in his brother’s arms--get hit by the glowing spears that would hit the bridge, or the walls, or come just too close for comfort.

You tried to catch your breath as you turned a corner, but you stopped short when a spear flew in front of you. Your eyes moved to Undyne, but there was already a spear on it's way toward Papyrus, who had stopped too close to you.

“Stop it, Undyne!” You moved in front of the skeletal brothers and threw your hands out; a shaky shield appeared in between you and the spear, but you hadn’t been able to put any power into the shield and the force of the spear slammed you back into Papyrus. This caused a chain reaction; Papyrus tried to catch you against him, but was only able to wrap one arm around you, while his own balance was precariously tilted toward the edge of the platform.

You threw your arms out, trying to catch yourself. Undyne threw another spear, and you tried to step back, which only pushed Papyrus’s balance completely off and all three of you toppled over the edge, into a dark oblivion.


	8. In the Darkness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the delay! I know its only two days, but I have daily goals and this chapter (as well as the next chapter for [Hell is a Place on the Surface](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6776788)) were a little harder to focus on, but I have them finished!
> 
> Thank you all for your patience, and here is the next chapter!

You groaned as consciousness came back into focus. Your body felt sore, but that was nothing compared to your head. Throbbing came from behind your eyes and from a place just above your left ear. You reached up and hissed when you touched something extremely sensitive and felt your hand come away wet.

“D-damnit…” You moaned, trying to open your eyes, but all you could see was blackness.

Then you realized your eyes were already open.

It was blacker than midnight around you and you felt a chill take over your spine as you called out, “S-Sans? Papy?”

The ground beneath you felt damp and slightly muddy--was that sand?--as you moved onto your hands and knees to try and feel around you. Dirt and what felt like some kind of moss was around you, and there was no sound to return your call. You swallowed hard.

“Sans? Please...answer me,” You almost whimpered, “Papyrus, are you both ok?”

“Someone, please...answer me!”

Your voice echoed around you, leaving you feeling alone and shelled out.

_That smiley trashbag is probably dead; he only has 1 HP after all._

“Don’t...don’t say that, Chara,” You answered the boy out loud quietly, sitting back on your heels as you tried to look around, but there was no getting adjusted to this kind of darkness; this was all consuming and it seemed to seep into your very core.

_Why else wouldn’t he answer? OH! Maybe it was because you killed his brother in the last timeline?_ Chara’s laugh made your head pound even harder.

“Shut up….” you whimpered, clutching your head.

_Maybe as a bonus, that idiot Papyrus is dead too! Oh, I hope we get to find their piles of dust around here!!_ Chara’s voice was getting louder.

“Stop!” Your voice rose as you tried to push him away, but the pounding in your head was getting worse.

_Oooh, or maybe we’ll find Papyrus crying over his brother’s pile of dust; it would be an interesting turn around, since it's usually Sans who we get to see blubber on about his brother…_

“SHUT UP!” You screeched into the darkness, your whole body tensing. In this moment of emotional shock, your SOUL suddenly escaped your chest.

The cartoonish figure floated in front of you, giving off a weak red light.

You felt a sob echoing inside of you before it escaped your throat. There was no strength in you to fight the sound or the well of emotions that suddenly started to flood you. Everything was changing too fast for you to keep up; first Papyrus started to remember you, and now it seemed Undyne remembered you as well...Did Alphys? Was she the one who told Undyne?

_H-hey...d-don’t do that; I was just...I mean...hey, I didn’t mean it!_

You didn’t want to answer him, or even acknowledge his existence; you wanted to sit here and cry, and wait for either Undyne to find you, or for you to wither away so you could try RESETing again...if you even had the DETERMINATION to do it again.

Before Chara could try to speak to you again, you heard an echoing voice.

“I BELIEVE I HEARD THE HUMAN OVER IN THIS DIRECTION, BROTHER; FEAR NOT, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, CAN SEE WELL ENOUGH TO GET US THROUGH THESE CAVERNS….YOU WORRY TOO MUCH BROTHER, LOOK, I CAN SEE A RED GLOW!!”

You swallowed and didn’t bother to try and wipe your eyes. First the two appeared as a strange silhouette in the darkness--Papyrus seemed to be carrying Sans again--and then their features began to get clearer.

Even in the reddish glow, the view of them set you at ease.

“Sans, Papyrus,” You weakly croaked, “I...I thought you two were…”

“NOT TO WORRY, HUMAN; I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WAS ABLE TO USE MY MAGIC TO KEEP BOTH MYSELF AND MY BROTHER SAFE. I ONLY REGRET THAT YOU WERE SEPARATED DURING THE FALL.”

“are you hurt?” Sans was riding on Papyrus’s back and was looking down at you over his shoulder.

“I think I bumped my head pretty bad, but other than that,” You shrugged, finally wiping your tears away in favor of standing; your SOUL followed you.

“HUMAN, WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO YOUR SOUL?”

You blinked before actually looking at the core of your being.

The normally bright red heart looked like a glass that had watered down kool-aid swirling inside of it, rather than the strong sense of DETERMINATION that once filled your being. The glass was cracked in more than a few places and even looked ready to fall apart to you. Your HP read 3/20.

“I...it's…” You pressed your lips together, looking down, “It’s a long story, Papyrus.”

“one that should probably wait until we’re out of here,” Sans commented.

You were appreciative of the diversion as you finally managed to get yourself under control, “Where even _is_ here?”

“honestly, I couldn’t tell you, buddy,” Sans was looking around slowly, “monsters have always known that there are extra caverns and such that we’ve never needed because we like to gather together; we’re not what you’d call a real exploratory race.”

You noticed the lack of jokes and puns in Sans’s speak and swallowed; he was either very upset, or very tired. You had a feeling it was the former.

“FEAR NOT; I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE A NATURAL SENSE OF DIRECTION!!” Papyrus was holding Sans against his back with one hand while the other was in the air in a mark of victory.

“you’re so cool, bro,” Sans was smiling at his brother.

You couldn’t stop yourself from smiling with him, “Well, since Papyrus is here, we have nothing to worry about.”

Papyrus beamed, though a small orange blush had stained his cheeks, “O-OF COURSE YOU HAVE NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT, HUMAN! COME! PUT YOUR SOUL AWAY AND LET'S BE OFF!”

Hesitation took you as you answered, “Uh...Papy, I can’t see in the dark…”

“YOU CAN’T? HOW DO YOU HUMANS MANAGE AT NIGHT, THEN?”

“We use flashlights or something similar,” You shrugged; honestly it had been long enough that you didn’t know any other way.

“HMM...AH, THEN I WILL FIX THIS!”

Before you could ask him his idea, his arm reached out and pulled you against his body in a similar way that to his brother. You squeaked as you felt your chest hit the back of his battle body, and your legs wrapped around his waist almost instinctively as his arm curled underneath your legs to support you.

You felt the warmth of both brothers, Papyrus pressed against the front of you and Sans pressed to your side.

“P-Papyrus, are you sure-”

Papyrus cut you off as he started to walk through the caverns, “THERE YOU ARE, HUMAN! YOU MAY PUT YOUR SOUL AWAY AND NEED NOT FEAR LOSING US IN THE DARKNESS! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE SOLVED THIS SIMPLE PUZZLE!”

You swallowed and took a deep breath. With a small amount of effort, your red SOUL returned to your body, leaving you feeling less empty and blind again.

“how is your head?”

Sans’s voice broke through the darkness to your right and you reached up to touch the place above your ear before wincing at the sharp pain that followed.

“I think I hit it pretty hard,” You answered, “It hurts to touch, and I have a pounding headache from it.”

“HOPEFULLY WE WILL BE ABLE TO FIND A WAY BACK TO THE MAIN UNDERGROUND QUICKLY!” Papyrus said, “IF WE ARE ABLE TO GET TO A VENDOR, WE CAN BUY FOOD AND REPAIR ANY DAMAGE!”

You nodded absently, a spare thought thanking whatever deity in charge of your life that Monster food worked just as well on humans as it did on Monsters. You pressed your lips together before taking a long breath.

“I’m sorry, both of you,” You said quietly, “You both were caught up in Undyne’s anger because of me…”

“FEAR NOT, HUMAN!” Papyrus didn’t sound phased at all, “UNDYNE IS A DEDICATED CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL GUARD, BUT I BELIEVE SHE WILL SEE REASON!”

“I’m not so sure, Papy,” You said quietly, “But thanks for believing it.”

Hours passed on, mostly in silence, but Papyrus was happy to break it on occasion with curious questions about humans in general and about you; though you tried to answer as best you could, you finally had to comment.

“I’m sorry I can’t answer your questions any better, Papyrus,” You said, leaning your head onto his shoulder, “I was a small child when I first fell into the Underground; now I’m an adult, so I honestly think I know more about Monster customs than I do Human ones…”

“IF YOU HAVE BEEN HERE IN THE UNDERGROUND FOR SO LONG, HUMAN, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? I KNOW I HAVE MET YOU BEFORE, BUT I CANNOT RECALL FROM WHERE.”

“That...has more to do with the timelines,” You answered quietly, “I promise I’ll answer about that, but for now...I’m more worried that we get out of these caverns.”

Although it did seem that Papyrus was walking on an incline, it still felt as if you weren’t getting anywhere; there was still nothing but darkness to your eyes, the kind the pressed in from all sides and made you feel claustrophobic and stole your breath. You wanted to fidget nervously, but the way that Papyrus held you didn’t let for much room to fidget.

“bro, we should stop for a while so you can take a break,” Sans finally said, breaking his silence for the first time in hours.

“IF YOU FEEL I NEED ONE, I WILL NOT ARGUE, BROTHER; BUT I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, CAN CONTINUE UNTIL WE ARE BACK IN WATERFALL!!”

“i know you can, paps; just take a break and settle your older brother’s nerves, yeah?” Sans sounded amused, though you don’t think Papyrus heard that in his brother’s voice.

“ALRIGHT, THEN; FOR YOU, BROTHER, WE WILL TAKE A BREAK!”

You unhooked your legs from around Papyrus’s pelvis, and stood shakily. Apparently, your foot had fallen asleep at some point during the trip and you hadn’t been aware.

You sense more than saw Sans being set down near you.

“try to get some sleep, bro,” Sans started to say to Papyrus, though you felt a hard bony hand grip your shoulder and direct you toward what felt like the wall and you slid gratefully down until you were sitting against it.

“THAT IS AN EXCELLENT PLAN, BROTHER! I WILL REGAIN MY STRENGTH AND BE PREPARED TO LEAVE!”

You heard Papyrus’s larger body settling nearby and you heard the footfalls of what had to be Sans as he moved toward his brother and they both spoke quietly to each other--or, more accurately, Sans spoke quietly and Papyrus spoke at normal tones for him, which is to say loud and obvious. You smiled to yourself as you heard the interaction, letting the sound take you back to warmer memories from when you were younger. Of timelines long before you let Chara convince you that making a Genocide of the Monsters was the best course of action. Timelines where you often refused to move forward in favor of living with the brothers; growing as close as it was possible to grow, learning of Papyrus’s secret insecurities and Sans’s secret turmoils.

For a miserable moment, you wished you could reset that far back, that you could wipe out the existence of so many mistakes you had made…

You were so caught up in your memories and wishes that you didn’t notice Sans until he sat right next to you and nudged you with his elbow.

“careful you don’t let your mind wander too far, kiddo,” he said almost evenly.

“...sorry,” You said quietly, hearing Papyrus’s breathing--it was even and soothing, though you took no comfort from it, “I...Sans, I know you remember past timelines fairly well…”

“nearly perfectly, far as i can tell,” Sans said easily, “ya could say I have an _enlightened_ sense of it.”

You groaned quietly, “That was pretty bad, Sans…”

You felt him shrug, “Can’t win them all.”

A silence fell over the both of you for a long moment before you finally broke it.

“I...I’m sorry,” You swallowed and pulled your knees up to your chest.

“there’s a lot i’d like to be mad at you for, pal,” Sans’s voice took a darker tone, “can’t say i feel much forgiveness for a dirty brother killer like you.”

You pressed your lips together and closed your eyes.

“I...don’t want your forgiveness, Sans,” You said quietly, trying to keep yourself from choking up, “I don’t deserve it, and it’d be an insult to everyone down here if I thought that I somehow needed it in order to go one with what I need to do.”

Sans paused to glance at you before he answered, “so, you just saying sorry cause you think it's what you owe us?”

“I owe you all more than that,” You said quietly.

“i don’t disagree, kiddo,” He said bitterly, but at least he was still talking to you, “i’d like some kind of explanation, though i doubt it would somehow be worth the life of every monster here in the underground.”

You swallowed harder, trying to find your voice, “I...please believe me, Sans...I didn’t just one day decide that everyone deserved to die, I...I was just a stupid girl, who had lost hope and listened one too many times to the devil on her shoulder…”

“what does that even _mean_ ,” Sans sounded quietly frustrated.

“Do...do you know who Flowey is?”

Sans didn’t respond for a long while; long enough that you wouldn’t have been surprised if you suddenly heard snoring coming from him.

You were about to settle back into your own dark thoughts, when Sans’s voice finally broke the silence.

“i _knew_ who he was at one point, i think,” Sans said quietly, “a bright yellow flower, with a face and annoying voice, right?”

You nodded, but you didn’t know if he could actually see you, so you added, “That’s right. Flowey is….well, was, the one who could control the power of the RESETs, before I arrived here in the Underground.”

A vague memory stirred up in Sans’s mind, of a flower appearing to his brother and causing death in his wake.

“yeah, i got that sense he was up to no good,” Sans shoved his hands in his pockets and crossed his legs, “i don't’ really remember a lot from those timelines…”

“I think...the longer ago the timeline was, the harder time you’ll have remembering it,” You supplied quietly, “I’m sure you don’t really remember me as a kid, but the last few timelines are so vivid that you’ll have a hard time believing that I’ve tried to do anything other than kill everyone…”

While Sans would have loved contradicting you just for the sake of being at odds with you, but he realized that even in acting like that, you were right. He did have hazy recollections of you--younger and so much happier--sleeping on their couch, laughing and living with both of them, but he could hardly see that same child in you now, especially in the state your SOUL was currently in.

“so, what happened, kiddo?”

“I tried so hard, Sans,” You said quietly, looking down at your knees, “I tried so hard to make everyone happy, but every time I got close...I’d find someone I couldn’t save, so I had to RESET. It took me so long, sometimes _dozens_ of RESETs before I could figure out what I’d done wrong so that I could save everyone. I found out all about Gaster, I figured out how to save Chara, I even found out who Flowey really was, but-”

“chara?” Sans suddenly interrupted, “you mean the first human? the king and queen’s human child? kid, how d’ya figure you could save them?”

“Chara...never really left the Underground,” You said slowly, clenching your fists, “He...well, he’s the reason a lot of things are the way they are, to be honest.”

“you humans and your determination,” Sans sighed, “so, what, his SOUL still hanging around?”

You shook your head, “Not as far as I can tell...Asriel absorbed it all those years ago, but Chara had a stubborn kind of DETERMINATION that just made it so he just didn’t disappear, even after his body was dead and buried…”

_You know, it's not polite to talk about me like I’m not here._ Chara sounded bored as he tried to interrupt your train of thought.

You winced, but closed your eyes, “He….well, he’s been with me, ever since I first fell into the Underground.”

Sans actually turned his head to look at you.

“kid….i think you better tell me everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and please visit my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/)


	9. Death is Only a Memory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A second chapter for all you lovelies because you had to wait for two days for my update~

It wasn’t until just then that the both of you realized that Papyrus was making distressed noises in his sleep.

Sans stood without hesitating and moved toward his brother, “paps, wake up; it's just a nightmare…”

You closed your eyes and sighed. You already knew what his nightmares would be about and it made you feel sick to your stomach. Of all the times…

Papyrus, in his usual loud fashion, screamed awake at his brother’s touch.

“S-SANS?? SANS WHAT…?”

“it was a nightmare, bro,” Sans tried to comfort his brother, but it sounded hollow, even to your ears.

“IT FELT SO EERILY REAL,” Papyrus’s voice lowered just a little before you could hear his voice turning toward you, “HUMAN, YOU WERE IN IT!”

You swallowed and nodded, though you didn’t know if he could see it or not, “I...I know, Paps…”

“HOW COULD YOU KNOW?”

“Because it wasn’t just a dream, Papy,” You spoke quieter.

“hey, i don’t think-” Sans tried to interrupt, but Papyrus easily spoke over him.

“HOW COULD IT NOT JUST BE A DREAM? DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH THE TIMELINES?”

You nodded again and felt tears prick your eyes; you had hoped against hope, prayed to whoever was listening, that Papyrus would never remember the horrible things you did to him. Hope died a little in your chest, and you realized that there was no one listening.

“Y-yes,” You finally answered, your voice shaky, “It...your dream was another timeline; and in it, I…”

Papyrus was uncharacteristically quiet and didn’t supply you with anything, so you had to continue.

“I...I killed everyone Papyrus,” You couldn’t bring yourself to use the endearment, couldn’t bring yourself to look up or move at all, “And you were one of my victims.”

You weren’t sure what was worse; the expectation that he would yell and be angry, or the silence that he gave you instead. He didn’t answer, didn’t respond. All of the air seemed to get heavier around you and you half hoped you would suffocate.

“hey, bro, where are you goin?”

Sans’s voice was the only indication that anything had changed since you spoke.

“I...I DO NOT KNOW BROTHER, BUT I DO NOT WANT TO BE HERE.”

You curled into yourself and tried to steal yourself against the pain. A part of you had expected that you would do this run completely alone; that no one would believe you, or support you, that the only thing waiting for you at the end was just more darkness and pain, but to hear even Papyrus, the same Papyrus who always died with the phrase “I still believe in you” on his lips, want to walk away…

You couldn’t stop the silent tears.

“don’t go all on your bonesome, pap!” You heard the sound of two sets of feet start to fade away into the darkness and you didn’t bother to call out.

You honestly deserved to wander lost down here.

It wasn’t long that you couldn’t hear anything at all, other than your own breathing and the thudding of your heart in your chest. The tears were quick to dry up, but you felt like you didn’t want to stand or move. Every part of your body hurt, and your head still pounded with your heartbeat; you felt exhaustion creep into the edges of your mind, even as you tried to fight it.

You needed to get to Waterfall, so you could go past and get to Hotland.

Getting up was probably the hardest thing you had done for a while, but you still managed it, despite your shaking legs. The whole of your body swayed dangerously and you felt yourself lead into the wall to support your weight so you could let your dizzy spell pass.

_You’re going to keel over at this rate, idiot,_ Chara’s voice drawled lazily from inside your head.

“Shut up,” You didn’t even have the energy to make it sound angry; it just sounded pleading and weak even to your own ears.

_I’m serious; you’re HP just went from 3 down to 2. Just lay down and take a nap; maybe the brother’s will come back by the time you wake up._ Chara didn’t sound like he believed in that possibility at all, but you still smiled.

“Thanks, Chara,” You murmured, feeling your feet start to move underneath you as you slowly made your way in the same direction that the brother’s voices had drifted, “I know it's not a natural state for you to be supportive, but...thank you.”

_Ah...shut up…._

You smiled, but it faded away as quickly as it came.

The darkness stretched out in front of you like eternity; it pressed in on you and refused to let up for any reason. You had thought that it was a little brighter before, but now that you were alone, you realized that it was just as dark, just as cold.

You missed Sans and Papyrus.

You pressed your lips together and pushed the lonely emotion away; you had fucked up so badly, that you didn’t expect they’d be back, unless it was to help Undyne catch you. Part of you was tempted to let them capture you without a fight, but you had made a promise; a promise to Chara, a promise to Gaster, and a promise to yourself. You couldn’t break them, not for anything.

You pressed on, though you got the sense that the darkness was unnatural, alive somehow.

As soon as you realized this, you called out.

“Gaster?”

There wasn’t an answer at first, but before you could call again, you heard the ticking and hisses of the shadowman.

_“You are certainly moving yourself along by will alone, aren’t you?”_ Gaster’s voice seemed to come from everywhere at once, but you were used to this.

“It’s really all I have left,” You admitted tiredly, “Funny that you’d go through the energy of meeting me on this plane, though; do what do I owe the honor?”

Gaster didn’t answer for long moments, but she didn’t stop walking.

_“Things have begun to change,”_ Gaster finally said, _“The timelines are trying to right themselves and it's causing everyone to remember; first it will only be the most recent ones, and soon they will remember everything the way you do, child.”_

You grunted, almost tripping over a rock, “Then I pity them...I wish I could forget the timelines...any of them.”

It was another long moment before Gaster could answer again, _“Your memory is your power; it is the only reason you will be able to save any of us.”_

You grit your teeth and answered, “I’m going to save _everyone_ , Gaster...I promised you all those timelines ago, I was going to return you to your sons.”

The next pause was the longest one yet. There was no sound, no way to know you weren’t walking in circles. You almost thought he had gone, but his voice, weak and quiet, came from around you again.

_”...You are a strange child,”_ Gaster finally said.

“The strangest,” You found yourself laughing quietly.

After a moment of quiet, Gaster continued, _”Thank you, young one.”_

Then you knew Gaster was gone, his magic leaving the air and leaving you feeling a little more energized, a little healthier. You even noticed a light at the end of the corridor. It seemed Gaster had teleported you, as well.

_Huh, the old creepster actually raised your HP: It's 5/25._

“It will have to do,” You answered quietly, using your hand to guide you as you touched the rock of the corridor.

~*~

“BROTHER, I DO NOT WISH TO HAVE COMPANY,” Papyrus’s head was spinning and all he wanted to do was sit down so he could try to sort out the anger, the pain, the betrayal he felt toward you.

“you’re my bro, so you're stuck with me,” Sans answered easily before a yawn left him, “though I’d appreciate you stopping to talk about this sooner rather than later; i could use a nap.”

“YOU ARE NOT TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY, BROTHER,” Anger came out as he snapped at Sans, “I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN THAT YOU SEEM TO KNOW ABOUT THESE OTHER TIMELINES; DID YOU KNOW ABOUT WHAT THE HUMAN HAD DONE?”

Sans froze and looked down before he gave a half shrug, “to be fair, I only knew about the last couple of timelines; before that, she didn’t seem to be able to leave the ruins without RESETing. i’ve always just assumed the monsters in the ruins fought back, but i wonder…”

Papyrus sighed, “TELL ME ABOUT THIS SANS; HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I DIED TO YOU?”

It was a long while before Sans could bring himself to admit it.

“The...the kid kept doing mini-resets, bro,” He finally answered quietly, before Papyrus could demand the answer again, “i started to call them SAVEs, like in a game or somethin’...”

“HOW MANY TIMES?” Papyrus pressed.

“i...i dunno, a hundred, maybe more?”

Silence overtook them in the dark, though Sans had no trouble seeing his brother in the dark. Papyrus always wore his emotions on his sleeve and that left him as something of an open book for Sans, but this time….

This time, Sans couldn’t tell what Papyrus was thinking.

“HAVE YOU NOT BEEN ABLE TO STEP IN TO HELP ANYONE?”

Sans wanted to curse and be annoyed; leave it to Papyrus to care about everyone who died _after_ he did.

“i faced the kid in a showdown if that’s what you're asking,” Sans almost grumbled, “the first time she managed to kill you, she RESET and started all over. the second time she came through, she actually didn’t kill anyone, but i...i don’t remember a lot of what happened in that timeline. i know she made it all the way to the barrier, but...then she came back and you died again paps.”

Sans ran a hand over his skull, closing his eyes.

The brother’s were silent for far too long, and Sans could feel it crawling on his back like a sin.

“bro; paps, you gotta know that i never told you cause i didn’t want you having to live through what i had to go through,” Sans finally said, trying to break the silence, “the nightmares, knowing what was coming, trying to change things only to find out that it didn’t change anything…”

“BROTHER, I AM SORRY YOU LIVED WITH THAT,” Papyrus put a hand on top of Sans’s head, “COME, WE MUST FIND THE HUMAN; I DO BELIEVE THAT I WANT TO HEAR WHAT SHE HAS TO SAY ABOUT ALL OF THIS.”

Sans froze, “geez, bro...you’re too cool, just ready to face her again?”

He couldn’t keep his disbelief out of his voice.

“THERE IS A REASON SHE CAME BACK AND ALLOWED HERSELF TO BECOME SO HURT, AND SHE REFUSED TO HURT UNDYNE, EVEN THOUGH UNDYNE WAS THROWING SPEARS,” Papyrus explained shortly, “I BELIEVE HER REASON IS VERY IMPORTANT AND I WANT TO KNOW IT.”

Sans reached up and grabbed Papyrus’s hand and held it tightly.

“alright bro, lets go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and please visit my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/)


	10. Face Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyo~
> 
> I just wanted to say thank you to my reviewers, I really appreciate the encouragement~ Writing a chapter a day for my two fics (that equals two chapters a day, with no max word limit on myself) can be pretty hard some days, but its nice to see people appreciating it. And thanks for all the kudos! Even taking a short moment out of your free time to give me one means a lot, so all of you, thank you!
> 
> Just a quick FYI: you all might start noticing a little '~*~' start appearing in my writing more and more, and just so you all know, its mostly just to help me organize thoughts and mark the end of one scene and the beginning of another. Sometimes there's a small time jump, sometimes its an immediate transition and hopefully I'll be clear on which is which. If I'm not, please leave a comment or drop me an ask over at my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Please enjoy this chapter~

Papyrus and Sans tried backtracking, and it was almost an hour later that they realized you were nowhere to be found. There was no trace of you.

“WOWIE, I DON’T KNOW HOW THE HUMAN DID IT, BUT I AM FORCED TO BELIEVE THAT THE HUMAN GOT PAST US, BROTHER!” Papyrus scratched his skull.

“come on, paps,” Sans reached out and grabbed Papyrus’s hand, “with just the two of us, I can get us all the way to hotland; that’s most likely where she’s heading.”

“JUST AS LONG AS YOU DON’T HURT YOURSELF, BROTHER.” Papyrus held Sans’s hand tightly as they walked forward.

~*~

You stumbled through the thigh-high water, trying not to trip over echo-flower roots and mud, but you were in your bare feet, since your shoes and socks were in your hands so you could have semblance of comfort after you got through to Hotland. You weren’t sure how you handled it as a child, but you could remember practically dancing through the water, coming out the other side soaking wet and happy.

Happy...what did that even feel like anymore?

You shook your head and climbed out of one water-logged path just to see another ahead of you. The mountain that you had to pass to reach Hotland was just ahead, and a part of you just _knew_ Undyne would be waiting for you.

A hand unconciously raised to touch your sternum and you got the sense of your HP, as if it flashed before your eyes for moment: 5/25.

You had almost forgot what it felt like to have full health, and to actually have the DETERMINATION to go on, rather than just the empty sense of duty that tugged at your SOUL and made you put one foot in front of the other. The idea of facing Undyne made you want to sit in the water and see how long it would take for you to drown-

The thought stopped almost violently and you rubbed your forehead, and felt tears start to fall down your face. So much felt just _broken_ inside of you...you just wanted to feel _right_ again….

Before you knew it, you saw the golden twinkle of the SAVE point and saw the diverging path that would let Undyne know you had arrived.

You touched the small golden star and felt a small amount of warmth enter through your hand and move to touch you at your core. A breath of relief left you before you felt the imprint that was left inside of the small twinkling illusion.

A touch to your chest told you that your HP was now 11/25.

_You know that stupid fish is going to kill us, right?_

Chara sounded annoyed, but didn’t seem to be trying to press into your conscious mind. Maybe he really would let you do this your way, rather than trying to force his own thoughts and beliefs. Maybe.

“At least a dozen times,” You said, feeling exhausted at the idea of it, “Or more, if I can’t see her pattern…”

 _You really are an idiot; why do you have to save_ everyone _? Why is it so goddamn important that this bitch gets to kill us a thousand times, but we can’t even kill her once??_

“I won’t...I won’t watch her die again, Chara,” you felt your voice break, but pushed through until you were turning to face the path that would lead you to another death.

_....idiot._

With that, you felt Chara’s presence diminish; he had so much anger, all you could do was respond in softness, if only to show him that there was still softness in the world for him.

Now you were just stalling.

A deep breath, a heavy sigh, and you started walking toward the small mountain that was most likely an overgrown stalagmite.

“ _You!_ ”

You froze and looked up, feeling a chill as you saw Undyne in her full armor waiting for you in the exact place you could remember seeing her when you were just a child.

“I won’t let you continue to wander down here as you please!” Undyne jumped down, landing with enough force to make the ground beneath you tremble, “I’ve seen what you’ve done in the past!”

You squared your shoulders, “I won’t fight you, Undyne.”

You wished badly that you had some kind of conviction in your voice, but it sounded tired, even to your own ears.

“You think that will somehow make up for you _murdering_ the inhabitants of the Underground?” Undyne snarled before ripping her helmet off and throwing it to the side in anger, making it clang loudly in the corridor, “You think I give a FUCK that you haven’t killed anyone this go around?”

“You don’t have to,” You answered, holding yourself, “I already know you’ll probably kill me a few dozen times before I figure out a way to get past you so that I can get to the barrier.”

“I won’t let you,” She snarled, a blue spear appearing in her hand in her anger, “I won’t let you get close to Asgore or the barrier! You don’t get to walk away from this, you don’t get to pretend that nothing happened down here!”

“Do you really think I don’t carry all those Monsters with me as I walk through the Underground?” You asked it quietly, feeling the tug of your SOUL leaving your body and turning green.

Undyne didn’t even hesitate as more spears appeared and started to fly toward you from multiple directions. You spun easily, throwing your hand out to block the spears without flinching.

“Who cares what you think??” Undyne snapped, “I’ll make you pay!”

“I’ve seen the look on each Monster’s face as they died,” You said, refusing to look at the taller woman as you continued to block and spin, “I’ve heard the sounds they made as I killed them; I can’t ever forget that!”

You let out your own snarl as the last spear tried to misdirect you and tried to hit you from behind. Your hand flew up to block it at the last second and you had to take a deep breath to soothe your nerves. That one had almost been too close for comfort.

“Shut up!” Undyne made a motion with her hand.

You were confused for half a moment before you saw the glow of Undyne’s magic coming from below you and you froze. The spears shot up from below and pierced your legs and chest, making you cry out in pain and your HP hit zero.

The darkness of the void met you and you let out a gasping breath as you clutched your chest.

“I told you, you were gunna die,” Chara’s voice was petulant and hauty, “Undyne’s a bitch, just kill her.”

“I won’t,” You slowly rose to your feet and saw the SAVE flicker to life in front of you, “Undyne is just as worth saving as all the others.”

Before Chara could answer, you had pressed the CONTINUE button.

Another sigh left you before you turned back toward the divergent path.

“ _You!_ ”

You stopped and looked up at her.

Sans had caught onto the whole SAVE points almost immediately, and a sick twisted part of you wondered how many times it would take for Undyne to catch on.

“I won’t let you continue to wander down here as you please!” Undyne jumped down, landing with enough force to make the ground beneath you tremble, “I’ve seen what you’ve done in the past!”

Not this time, apparently.

“Undyne, it doesn’t matter how many times you kill me,” You said, “I won’t fight back.”

“You think that will somehow make up for you _murdering_ the inhabitants of the Underground?” Undyne snarled before ripping her helmet off, but this time she didn’t throw it to the side and you raised an eyebrow, “You think I give a FUCK that you haven’t killed anyone this go around?”

“I won’t have this conversation with you again, Undyne,” You glanced past her, half wondering how easy it would be to slip past her this go around.

Undyne froze, blinking at you for a moment before a hand went to her head, “F...fuck, this…”

“...is the second time,” You confirmed.

Her visible eye narrowed before the spears appeared around you again, making your SOUL appear in front of you, “Guess that means I can’t catch you with the same trick twice.”

“Nope,” You squared your shoulders and felt your SOUL change colors without looking.

~*~

Sans and Papyrus had arrived in Hotland near Sans’s sentry station--where he also usually sold hot dogs--and from there, they tried to figure out if you had passed by yet.

None of the Monsters around the station had seen you and that left Sans leading the two of them toward the elevators.

“DO YOU THINK THAT THE HUMAN HAS STOPPED BY ALPHYS’S LAB?” Papyrus asked, glancing back the way they came.

“no way to tell until we go and ask, bro,” Sans answered, shoving his hands into his pockets, “and if alphys hasn’t been paid a visit, we’d still be able to use her computer to find her; alphys has those camera’s up everywhere, after all.”

“YOU MEAN THOSE ONES THAT YOU ASKED ME NOT TO TOUCH?”

“yup, those are them,” Sans reached up to press the call button for the elevator, “alph was always a little strange.”

The elevator ride took it's time as they continued to talk.

“WHAT IF UNDYNE FOUND THE HUMAN, BROTHER?” Papyrus suddenly asked as the doors slid closed, “THERE REALLY IS NO TELLING WHAT SHE WILL DO TO THE HUMAN NOW THAT SHE REMEMBERS THOSE PAST TIMELINES.”

“she’ll try to kill the human, of course,” Sans said evenly, though he tried to ignore the wrenching in his gut at the thought of it, “i’ll be honest bro, i don’t really think it's possible for the human to die; i did my fair share of killing her-” Sans ignored the gasp that came out of his brother’s mouth, “-and she always came back; well, until the last time. the last time i killed her, she RESET.”

“BUT WHY?” Papyrus turned to face Sans, “WHAT WOULD CAUSE HER TO TURN AWAY FROM KILLING LIKE THAT?”

Sans was about to shrug, but paused, “honestly? i tried reaching out to the side of her that i knew was there; the kid who was everyone’s best friend and was just...happy.”

Papyrus didn’t answer right away and put a hand to his chin, “IF THE HUMAN WAS SO HAPPY BEFORE...WHY DID THEY CHANGE?”

Sans opened his mouth to answer, but found himself shoving his hands into his pockets, “and if alphys hasn’t been paid a visit, we’d still be able to use her computer to find her; alphys has those camera’s up everywhere, after all.”

Sans actually stopped walking from the jarring shift from a SAVE and put a hand to his head. Papyrus had a similar reaction, though he was more vocal about it.

“WH...WHAT WAS THAT, SANS?”

“it was one of those mini RESETs i told you about; the ones that are from the SAVE points,” Sans glanced around and saw that they were indeed in the middle of walking from the sentry station toward the elevator. A chill hit his bones.

“BUT WHY WOULD THE HUMAN RELOAD A SAVE LIKE THAT?”

“probably because they died.”

Papyrus let out a dramatic gasp, “SANS! WE MUST FIND THE HUMAN; UNDYNE HAS PROBABLY LOCATED THEM AND WILL CONTINUE TO KILL THEM!”

Sans nodded almost absently and tried to think of where Undyne would try to catch you. The heat from Hotland was too much for the woman while she was in her armor, but it wouldn’t surprise the smaller skeleton if she stripped naked for the chance to kill you.

“we’ll have to try to get to alphys’s lab,” Sans started forward again, before Papyrus scooped him up and used his much longer legs to hurry toward the elevator.

~*~

You stood in front of the save file for long moments, trying to gain the will to press the continue button.

7 times. You’ve now died 7 times, and Undyne was even more relentless than Sans. Instead of sticking to the same pattern now that she knew you could remember previous timelines, she was constantly trying to catch you off guard. While it was hard for her to catch you in the same type of trap twice, it became easier for her when she realized that your SOUL turning green meant you really were stuck in one place. You couldn’t even hardly jump, unless you forced some DETERMINATION back into your legs.

“Just _KILL_ her,” Chara was almost pleading with you now, “She’s almost getting to enjoy this and it's pissing me off!”

“No,” you breathed, your resolve wanting to break and make you retreat.

The SAVE flickered in front of you and you closed your eyes tightly, trying to remember the promises you made. Gaster wanted to be with his sons again; Chara wanted to be put to rest at last; Flowey was hurting so badly and just wanted to feel something, _anything_ again…

When you opened your eyes, the SAVE was in front of you, lit brightly again.

You hit the CONTINUE button before your resolve could waver again.

It was only moments after you came back to the path that you heard Undyne.

“Came back for round 8, huh?” Undyne was already jumping down to face you, your SOUL was already out, “I’m getting tired of playing this song and dance, human!”

“I won’t fight you!” You said, feeling your feet stick to the ground as your SOUL turned green again.

“I’m getting tired of this shit,” Undyne spat, “Why don’t you just die!?”

“I made promises,” You answered throwing your hand up to block a spear she tried to surprise you with from behind, “Promises that I won’t break; I can’t die until I keep them!”

You forced yourself to jump as the spears came from below, and you took the moment of your heart being back to it's normal color to dart around her, heading for the tunnel that would lead you toward Hotland.

You had to jump back when a line of spears shot up from the ground, blocking the archway completely. A sag started in your shoulders and almost made you sink the floor; the only reason you stayed standing was because you couldn’t let yourself be an easy target for Undyne. Slowly, you turned to face her.

Undyne was about to snarl at you again, but paused when you turned around.

You looked so goddamn _tired_. The sag of your shoulders was almost enough to show her how much you were carrying, and the look in your eye. That was the look of someone not only lost, not only without hope, but without any will to live, besides the will of others to drive you. She hadn’t seen anyone except...except Asgore with that look in his eye before. The weight of the universe bearing down on you, nothing but pure will keeping you going...it was so eerily similar that it stayed her hand for long moments as the two of you stared each other down.

“I won’t stop trying to kill you, punk,” Undyne declared, but she hesitated, “You deserve everything I’m giving you.”

“I know,” You answered, making Undyne pause again.

“...But you can’t die yet, right?”

You shook your head, “No, not yet; I’m the only one who can find everyone’s happiness. Not just every Monster in the Underground, but even the forgotten ones, too.”

Forgotten ones? Undyne shook her head and pointed a spear at you, “Listen here, punk! You and I will do this for the rest of eternity, your only chance is to kill me, so better harden your hull!”

“I won’t,” You stubbornly said, quietly squaring your shoulders as you prepared for the next wave of spears.

Undyne, more out of frustration than anything, summoned a huge wave of spears, more than you had ever seen her summon at any one time. The sheer number of them made the color drain from your face and you silently opened it would at least be an instant death this time around.

The spears flew. You hesitated, daunted by the number. Too late, you went to throw your hand up to block them. You stepped back. The shield didn’t appear.

This was going to hurt.

Suddenly, a wall of bones rose from the ground around you and you heard the thudding sound of all the spears hitting the wall of bones.

Bones…?

“HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE ARRIVED WITH MY BROTHER, SANS!”

“Fuckin-” Undyne looked so angry, you almost felt giddy.

You turned around and stared through the bars of Undyne’s spear-gate and felt relief flood your body as you saw Sans and Papyrus. Papyrus looked abnormally heroic, with his hands on his hips and his voice declaring loudly, “FEAR NOT, HUMAN, WE ARE HERE TO HELP YOU!”

Sans, on the other hand, looked exhausted. Sweat was slowly dripping down the sides of his face, and the bags under his eyes seemed more pronounced than usual.

“Papyrus!” Undyne growled behind you, “I had hoped that when I found this bitch alone that you and your brother had wisened up, but guess the surprise is on me, you dirty traitors!”

“I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM NO TRAITOR! THIS HUMAN WAS A FRIEND OF ALL OF OURS, UNDYNE, AND FRIENDS CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER! I WANT TO KNOW WHY THE HUMAN WAS HURTING SO BADLY THAT SHE WOULD WANT TO HURT OTHERS!”

You froze and felt your breath leave you. How could he...have even guessed that?

“Are you fucking NUTS??” Undyne shrieked, stomping one foot, “She killed so many people after you died, Papyrus, how can you want ANYTHING to do with her?!”

“DON’T YOU REMEMBER THE OTHER TIMELINES, UNDYNE? HOW THE HUMAN HELPED BOTH YOU AND ALPHYS? HOW SHE TRIED SO HARD TO BE KIND, EVEN WHEN NO ONE TRUSTED HER?”

Undyne hesitated.

“c’mon, paps,” Sans shrugged, one eye closing as he continued, “you can’t expect undyne to remember it as easy as you can.”

You glanced over to the fish woman and saw her cheeks darken and become splotchy in irritation.

“I know what you’re trying to do, Sans, you bastard!” Undyne grumbled something before she finally pointed at you angrily, “We’re going to Alphys’s lab and you have _ONE_ chance to explain yourself; if I don’t like it, or if you try to hurt Alphys, I’m gunna rip you apart!”

The spears separating you and the skele-brothers disappeared and Papyrus rushed to your side in exuberance, pulling you up and into a hug.

“MY BROTHER AND I WERE WORRIED ABOUT YOU WHEN WE COULDN’T FIND YOU AGAIN IN THOSE DEEP CAVERNS! YOU MUST HAVE WALKED RIGHT BY US AND WE DIDN’T EVEN NOTICE YOU!”

“No,” you said quietly as Sans walked closer, taking his time, “I had...help.”

“help from who, pal?” Sans looked up at you curiously, watching as Papyrus put you down slowly.

“Gaster,” You supplied easily, watching as both brothers stared at you with similar expressions.

“Alright, alright, nerds,” Undyne glowered at you as she approached, “Let's get moving before I change my mind.”

Stopping only once to save at the twinkling SAVE point just before Alphys’s lab, you finally realized how much you needed to tell…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~Please acknowledge my existence~~ Comments are always appreciated, and please visit my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/)


	11. The Whole Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyya~
> 
> So, folks, just a big fat warning for you folks: this chapter is absolutely filled to the brim with exposition, so sit back in your seats and prepare yourself for it. I hoped to break it up by trying to follow what would be a chaotic conversation, but I may have made it more confusing....If anyone feels anything is unclear, please let me know in the comments or at my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/)

Alphys almost wouldn’t open the door when Papyrus knocked, but Undyne’s voice calmed the yellow Monster almost instantly.

“W-w-w-well, j-just as l-long as U-Undyne says it's o-okay,” Alphys eyed each person, but seemed to avoid looking at Undyne at all.

You glanced around and found a small smile appearing on your face as your eyes fell on familiar memorabilia from Mew Mew Kissy Cutie, among other things that Alphys had managed to collect from the trash dump in Waterfall. A fresh memory hit you of late nights spent between Undyne and Alphys, watching episode after episode of the show, all three of you laughing and then talking about makeup and boys…

You had felt so, normal.

Alphys bustled around and found chairs for everyone, mostly used computer chairs and a few folding chairs that you half expected to break as people sat in them. You sat at the edge of your chair and waited for the others to get settled, but still felt you didn’t have enough time to gather your thoughts as they all turned to look at you.

“Alright, runt,” Undyne, still in armor and all, grunted at you, glaring, “Spill it.”

You swallowed and watched as each set of eyes locked onto you; a sigh left you and you rubbed your forehead.

“Uh...I guess it starts all the way back with Chara, and Asriel,” You started, shrugging, “A lot is left out of the legend, or maybe it was forgotten--either way, one thing that is true and I know it is, is that Chara may have died, but he...he never _left_ the Underground.”

There was a beat of silence before questions were suddenly launched from all sides.

“HUMAN, HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE-”

“I call bullshit, how do you know-”

“Th-that i-is p-p-possible, but how-”

You felt yourself reeling and you tried to look at all three of them at once before they realized they were all overwhelming you.

“SORRY, HUMAN,” Papyrus broke in quickly, “BUT HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS?”

“Because…” You looked at each of them before looking down, “Because he follows me around, and I can hear him speaking to me.”

_I know you prefer being blunt, but even I think that you sound crazy._

You wanted to snap at the boy, but kept your mouth closed as you waited for someone to say something.

Undyne snapped, “You hearin’ _voices_??”

“Chara’s not just a voice,” You said slowly, “He’s the first human who fell.”

All the Monsters looked at each other silently and you rubbed your head, wanting to just push ahead, “I know it sounds crazy, alright? But Chara has _always_ been in my head, even before…”

You cleared your throat and continued, “I’m...I’m not entirely sure what exactly happened or when, or why, but when I first fell--the very first time--I was only 6 years old, and I didn’t understand RESETs or SAVEs, or even how to properly react to a fight. It was honestly dumb luck that Toriel found me before I got into any real trouble, and she taught me how to survive well enough, but there was...something, driving me forward, trying to get me to the end of the caverns, to meet with Asgore…”

Sans nodded slowly, his own memory feeling refreshed as he heard you speak.

“HEY! I REMEMBER THAT! YOU WERE A TINY HUMAN, AND YOU COULD NOT SPEAK VERY WELL.”

Undyne looked uncertain, but Alphys blushed a little, “N-no o-one had ever s-s-seen a human ch-child before th-that….”

“Nothing really happened during that first run,” You shrugged, looking at the ground, “I remember that I got to Asgore, but a creature named Flowey killed him and stole the 6 other human SOULs…”

All the Monsters gasped in unison, except for Sans. You could understand why; as many times as you had faced Flowey in that form, no one else had been involved as far as you could tell. They had all been oblivious, both before and after.

“I...I KNOW OF A FLOWER BY THAT NAME,” Papyrus sounded nervous, sweat gathering on top of his skull.

“Flowey,” You paused, contemplating calling him by his real name, but thought better of it, “He’s a creature with no SOUL...Alphys would know more about how that’s possible, I just know that he...he’s very very cruel.”

Undyne glanced at Alphys, but the small scientist was looking at the ground, “W-well...w-with everyone r-r-remembering the past t-timelines, I kn-knew it was only a matter of t-time b-before e-everyone remembered about m-my secret l-lab…”

A light seemed to turn on for Undyne at the mention of it and she reached out to put a hand on Alphys’s shoulder before her eye returned to you.

“Alright, punk,” Her rough voice sounded almost softer, “I guess I am starting to remember you as a kid and all...but if you got past Asgore, why did we repeat all of this over so many times?”

You swallowed and looked down again, “I...I had to save everyone.”

Sans interrupted here, having the best memory of the timelines, “i know there were timelines where there wasn’t a single monster lost; i can remember being impressed with you over it, but was our father really worth RESETing the timeline for?”

“Gaster wasn’t the only one I need to save.”

“W-wait, Gaster is s-still a-a-alive?” Alphys put a hand to her cheek.

“N...not really?” you offered a half shrug, “After Gaster injected himself with the traits of all the SOULs, and then threw himself into the CORE, he sort of...found a way to exist outside of time itself.”

The silence was palpable and stretched for long minutes after you spoke. You looked from one face to another and saw that both Undyne and Papyrus looked completely lost, but Alphys and Sans stared at you in almost awe.

“all this time,” Sans said quietly.

“W-wow,” Alphys swallowed, “I-it was c-certainly p-probable, s-since there’s n-no information on wh-what would h-happen to a M-Monster’s magic power b-b-by human t-traits…”

Undyne shook her head, not wanting to bother trying to follow the science talk, “What did you mean about Gaster not being the only one?”

You jumped a little, looking at Undyne again, “I...I have to save Chara...and Asriel.”

Undyne snorted before glaring, “They’re both _dead_ , you know that, right?”

“U-Undyne,” Alphys spoke quietly, looking at the fish woman.

“you still haven’t explained why you started slaughtering everyone,” Sans’s voice broke out over everyone else’s, and the dark tone sent a shiver up your spine as you met his eyes with your own.

You pressed your lips together and dropped your head. Shame overtook every part of your body and you wanted to shrink into yourself. You couldn’t avoid this, no matter how much you had hoped that you could just push through to the end and keep this locked away.

“I...I failed everyone,” You finally answered quietly.

They were silent again, but you couldn’t imagine what kind of looks they might be giving each other.

“I...I had thought I finally figured out how to save _everyone_ ,” You spoke quietly, “Gaster had returned, Chara had made amends with the King and Queen...but...Asriel….”

You felt yourself begin to shake, “In every timeline, in order to try and save Asriel, I have to face Asgore first...and in so many, Asgore dies so I had to RESET, to find out what I had been doing wrong. But once I figured it out, Asriel would...he would take the SOUL of every Monster, and the 6 human SOULs...everyone suffered so much, and there was no way to stop or alter what had happened. Sometimes he would torture everyone to make me cry, other times he’d kill someone and turn them to dust in front of me to show how...useless I was at saving _anyone_...”

You took another breath and felt your eyes start to well up. Reliving those timelines in your dreams was always the hardest. Hearing someone beg you to help them, crying out for loved ones, begging for MERCY, for you to ACT, for someone to SAVE them…

You didn’t realize that you were leaning down onto your knees, shaking with tears until you felt a hand on your back.

“HUMAN, DO NOT FRET,” Papyrus’s voice wasn’t as strong as it usually was, but he was still encouraging you, “I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, ASSURE YOU THAT WE KNOW YOU DID EVERYTHING YOU COULD. BUT STILL…”

He looked down at you questioningly, and you knew you still had to go on.

“I tried to fight Asriel...s-so many times,” You wiped your eyes, but found they were replaced as soon as they were wiped away, “He...he kept taunting me, telling me I had no chance to beat him and that he would t-torture everyone for the rest of eternity…”

A sigh left you and you closed your eyes, not wanting to look any of them in the face as you explained.

“Chara used the rest of himself to allow me to RESET,” You started quietly, “I...I stayed between the timelines for a long...long time, trying to figure out what I’d done wrong, how I could try to beat Asriel, but...Chara and I couldn’t think of a-anything. Chara...Chara finally suggested…”

You whimpered, trying to hold back a sob, “He...he said that if we were destined not to save anyone...we...we should just kill everyone.”

There was a roar of sound and you tensed, expecting Undyne to launch herself at you, but you felt the buzz of magic and everything stopped.

When you finally looked up, Sans’s left eye was glowing blue and Undyne was trapped in her chair by his magic.

“how about you wait til the end of her story, _armor_ right?”

“SANS, NOW IS HARDLY THE TIME!”

You felt a watery smile spread across your face, but Undyne’s growl chased it away quickly.

“So, what, you just decided to take Asriel’s place and kill us all??”

“N-no...Chara...Chara said that if we did it, we could at least make sure no one suffered...that...that we could just end it all for everyone and just…”

You choked and put your hands on either side of your head, “I...I was so tired...I fought Asriel for what felt like _years_! You...You don’t know what that feels like!” You felt a twinge of hysteria enter your voice, giving your voice a higher pitch and a whine.

“I tried...I tried so hard and everyone still died! It didn’t matter, nothing I did mattered! Everyone was going to suffer, everyone was going to die, what did anything matter? What did _I_ matter? If everyone was going to die, didn’t I owe it to them to make it easier? I love everyone so much and knowing that I was leading them to their death, over and over and over and over...and...o-over a-a-and o-over….”

Your sobs interrupted your shouting, and your body shook hard enough to make the chair creak beneath you. The truth hurt like an open wound across your SOUL; admitting your weakness, your inability to save anyone, letting it out that you always suspected that you were only good for one of two things: either leading everyone to their deaths by Flowey’s leaves, or killing them yourself.

Without a warning, you were suddenly plucked from the chair and pulled against the hard chest of Papyrus’s battle body while the taller skeleton wrapped his bony arms tightly around you, letting you bury your head into his scarf. The warmth and comfort he offered made you cry harder and you wrapped your arms around his neck and your legs dangled uselessly until he sat in his own chair again, rubbing your back and being uncharacteristically quiet.

The other three were silent, for a long time.

Just as you were finding your breath again, and the tears were starting to subside, everyone jumped at the sound of a blaring alarm.

“alph,” Sans had his hands over his ears, “what is that!?”

“Th-that’s f-f-for the true l-lab! S-someone i-is breaking i-i-in!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and please visit my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/)


	12. Determination (AKA coming up with chapter names is hard)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya~
> 
> So! First, I am so sorry for the unexpected hiatus; it started with Monday because for me, I'm in class from 9am to 9pm at my beauty school, so it wasn't really a surprise that I couldn't get something posted. Then it dragged on to Tuesday and I started to worry because the chapter wasn't done yet...then Wednesday flew by and I started to panic, lol.
> 
> BUT HERE'S THE CHAPTER!
> 
> As far as I know, there are no more unexpected hiatuses on their way, but fair warning, I will be out of state from Saturday May 21 through Monday May 23; I will try to post each day, but I don't have a laptop which means that all writing will be done on my phone, which is a POS.
> 
> I LOVE YOU ALL AND THANK YOU FOR WAITING <3 <3 <3

Hearing the alarm made you pull away from Papyrus.

“I have to go downstairs,” You said quietly, “I can’t save Gaster if anything happens to the true lab.”

Alphys looked uncomfortable.

You quickly added, “I’ve never hurt the amalgamates; I wouldn’t.”

It was true, after a fashion. More than once, you had wondered if you ought to go back and try--as much as you regretted those thoughts now--just because you knew no one would be around to feed them. Chara had always pushed you to focus and wouldn’t let you think on the residents of the true lab for long.

“We can all go,” Undyne snapped, crossing her arms, “If there’s an intruder, this is a Royal Guard matter, anyway.”

That caught Papyrus’s attention.

“COME, BROTHER! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS WILL PROVIDE BACK UP TO MY FRIEND, UNDYNE!” Papyrus put a hand on your shoulder and the other on his hip.

“A-ah,” Alophus looked around at each person present before giving a watery smile, “O-ok.”

She lead the group toward the room that had a restroom sign next to it before it slid open and everyone stepped into the hidden elevator. You noticed Undyne at your back, and the skeleton brothers on either side, and a sinking feeling hit your stomach. Not Papyrus, but Sans and Undyne for sure were keeping an eye on you. You swallowed, but didn’t let yourself quell away. You had to prove to your _friends_ that they could learn to trust you again

_It’ll never work; they’ll always doubt you_ Chara almost sounded bored as he relayed that statement.

You pressed your lips together and closed your eyes tightly to force yourself not to cry. Maybe Chara was right. Maybe Sans, Undyne and Alphys would always think, in the back of their heads, that they had to watch you, always be on guard…

But weren’t your friends worth trying for?

_Suit yourself; I’ll be here to tell you ‘I told you so’ at the end, as always._

The elevator opened to darkness and Alphys started making some excuse about the amalgamates liking the dark, but you were already leaving the elevator and walking down the hall.

“Hey, wait up, Punks!”

Undyne’s armor clanked behind you, so you stopped walking and turned to see Sans standing behind you, with Undyne running up.

Your eyes moved from Undyne to Sans, watching his expression even as he regarded you the same way.

One timeline in particular suddenly surface. The two of you, holding hands, staying up late just to talk; dates at Grillby’s and even a trip to the Mettaton Resort to watch Sans perform his comedy routine. His teeth pressed against your lips, ribcage pressed against your bare skin…

You swallowed and turn away, from the group and from the memories.

That timeline felt like decades ago, though it was the most recent one before Chara convinced you that genocide was the best way.

_Telling you that Sans wouldn’t suffer was the breaking point for you._ Chara agreed.

If Sans even remembered that timeline, you could only guess. Not that he would mention it to you. You murdered his brother and every other Monster in the Underground. A deep breath, and you pressed forward.

Alphys, perhaps from a sense of obligation, moved to walk next to you to help lead the group through the underground lab.

“Th-the alarm w-went off f-for the c-cryo-lab,” Alphys opened a door that lead into a room with dozens of beds, all empty, though you saw a familiar lump in one.

You let Alphys continue her nervous prattling. Everything felt so different now that everyone knew, about everything. It...it felt so reassuring; it was something that made you wonder. Should you have tried this sooner? Telling everyone the whole truth?

You had always debated doing it, but you found out years ago that Sans knew about the RESETs, and that knowledge seemed to just eat him up inside. You couldn’t bring yourself to do that to your friends, especially Papyrus. Just knowing Sans could barely cope made you feel guilty and wrong every time you RESET.

The cryo-room was a little foggy and Alphys muttered something about the fans being off.

You froze when you saw who was trying to break into one of the refrigeration units.

“Flowey,” You said, feeling a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature of the room.

The flower turned in place from where he was sticking up out of the ground, but the vines--roots?--he was using to try and pry the door open were still at work. All of the Monsters froze and their faces all showed their shock.

“Howdy,” Flowey gave everyone a cutesy smile.

Undyne took a short breath and you already knew why; Flowey’s mannerisms, even the words he used when he talked, all reminded you of Asgore. Undyne knew the King so much better, of course she would have noticed it immediately. Even having no soul, Asriel was still Asriel.

_Don’t think that,_ Chara hissed, _That isn’t my brother anymore._

You winced from his tone, but you didn’t take your eyes off of Flowey.

Sans felt irked and could see Papyrus shift uncomfortably. Papyrus believed in the inherent good of others, but everyone could remember Flowey from previous timelines and Sans could remember you, standing with weakening DETERMINATION as Flowey would kill and torture you and your friends, and then RELOAD SAVEs in order to torture you again.

Undyne and Alphys glanced at each other and the taller woman saw the fear and uncertainty cross Alphys’s face. Undyne could remember the past timelines a little better now, but Flowey only brought forth fuzzy memories. Still, if Alphys was scared of the small plant, Undyne would protect her.

“Wh-what a-are you doing, F-Flowey?”

You were surprised to hear Alphys speak up and it was a moment before you remembered that Alphys was actually the one who created Flowey.

“Oh, nothing,” Flowey winked and stuck his tongue out though the vines had started to loudly bang at the fridge.

Alphys looked panicked, “Th-that’s where I-I keep th-the liquid D-DETERMINATION.”

Sans stepped forward, “so, what you’re telling me is that this lab should really be a weed-free zone?”

Undyne moved forward and well, “Then we’ll stop him! Papyrus!”

The taller skeleton no longer looked uncomfortable and saluted Undyne.

“Don’t let the flower hurt anyone!”

“YOU CAN DEPEND ON ME, UNDYNE!”

You weren't sure if Undyne’s order was meant to include you, but you stepped forward so that Flowey would have to get through both Papyrus and you to get to Alphys.

Flowey’s face suddenly twisted and his eyes turned into large white circles; his voice gained a deep echo that made you feel like you’d been plunged into an ice bath.

“Do you really think you _idiots_ can beat me?” Flowey let out his laugh and you saw two white hearts, flipped upside down, begin floating in front of Sans and Undyne. Flowey, of course, had no SOUL.

Blue spears appeared above Undyne, and bones appeared in front of Sans before they started on their attack. Flowey laughed again and ducked below the floor while the attacks flew harmlessly past.

Flowey popped up in the same spot, laughing even harder, “Idiots!”

Sans commented quietly, “you feel that, undyne?”

“Yeah...My green magic didn’t affect him at all,” Undyne growled, materialized a spear in her hand, gripping it tightly.

“my blue magic didn’t work either...guess you could say I _blue_ it, eh?”

“SANS! NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR YOUR TERRIBLE JOKES!”

You smiled, but shifted your gaze back to Flowey before you glanced at Undyne. Her body was rigid, though she didn’t seem jumpy.

“My turn!” Flowey was back to his cutesy voice, and 20 or so white pellets shot into the air from his body, floating and lazily turning end over end, “See if you like my ‘friendliness pellets’!”

You twitched, glaring at the flower before you saw all 20 of the pellets shoot forward, aiming for Undyne and Sans.

Undyne’s spear turned green--as did her SOUL--and she swiped quickly, knocking each pellet that came her way from existence.

Sans waited until the last second and then side-stepped each attack with such a fluid motion that you had flashbacks of the judgement hall and you felt sick.

There was a moment where you saw Flowey grin devilishly and you froze, feeling something touch your shoulder. You turned quickly, catching a transparent view of Gaster before you saw through him to the white pellets aiming for you, Alphys and Papyrus. All three of your SOULs suddenly popped from your chests and nearly too late, Papyrus and Alphys noticed this.

You made some kind loud yelling noise as you jumped forward, trying to block both Alphys and Papyrus.

_ARE YOU CRAZY? YOU ONLY HAVE 13 HEALTH-_

Chara’s voice in your head overtook all other sound for a moment and you closed your eyes, expecting the stinging of pain and then the darkness of the place you went between SAVEs and timelines. You could feel that your DETERMINATION had risen, thanks to being among friends--whether or not they trusted you--but dying again, after getting so far….

But nothing happen.

You slowly opened your eyes and blinked as you saw a wall of bones, two layers thick, blocking the three of you from being hit. Turning around, you saw that both Papyrus and Sans were using their magic and you felt a little relief. That feeling dried up when you noticed Undyne staring at you--or more specifically, your SOUL--giving you a hard look before she turned back around and barked at Flowey.

“You made a BIG mistake,” Undyne growled, tens of spears appearing above her head as she prepared for another round of fighting, “Attacking Alphys; you must be a pretty big _idiot_ yourself!”

“definitely a bonehead,” Sans said darkly, a new wave of bones and now his Gaster Blasters appearing in the air.

Flowey now looked nervous, and glanced at the fridge before glaring back toward you.

“This is all _your_ fault!” Flowey grew fangs and hissed before the vines disappeared and Flowey ducked beneath the floor; this time, everyone’s SOULs disappeared back into their chests, signalling Flowey’s departure.

Relief washed over you as you tried to take a deep breath, but before you could, you saw Undyne turn to stare at you again. You froze, feeling like a deer caught in the headlights, swallowing hard.

Before Undyne could really say anything, Papyrus suddenly swooped you up into his arms, turning in a circle before he started to check you for injuries.

“HUMAN, YOU ARE VERY BRAVE! NOT AS BRAVE AS THE GREAT PAPYRUS, BUT YOU HELPED ME TO SAVE ALPHYS!”

You were so caught up in his attention that you didn’t hear Undyne and Sans talking.

“Did you see her SOUL?” Undyne asked quietly, crossing her arms tightly across her chest.

“i’ve seen it a couple times in this timeline, and the last,” Sans answered, one eye lazily closing as he watched Papyrus fuss over you, “it sure doesn’t look like the heart of a megalomaniac.”

Undyne glanced at Sans before grumbling, “i didn’t even realize you still knew how to do magic, loser.”

Sans shrugged, “eh, using it always makes me bone tired, so i try to spare myself from it.”

Undyne snorted before shaking her head, “I think I finally realize why all your puns sound so overused; you use the same ones in every timeline.”

“good to know you’re starting to remember,” Sans shoved his hands into his pockets, “for a little while, i was worried your memory would be de-fish-cient.”

Undyne glared down at him and Sans shrugged, “they can’t all be winners.”

The woman huffed, but looked amused nonetheless, “Yeah, guess not; I’m still gunna keep an eye on her, you know that right?”

“me too,” Sans agreed, his eyes falling on you.

Even though he saw you now, in the present, laughing and smiling with Papyrus and Alphys, in his mind’s eye, two visions of you kept overlapping--both trying to take control of his perception of you.

One was you, smiling, shy, and laying beneath him; the other was you with glowing red eyes, laughing as you finally managed to find the last Monster before you would make your way to the judgement hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and please visit my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/)


	13. Liquid DETERMINATION

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyya~
> 
> Sorry for the delay, everything's been weird since I got back from my trip, but I'm back and I have a few chapters in reserve, so hopefully there won't be a big gap in updates anymore!
> 
> HERE WE GO!

“So, how are you supposed to save Gaster?”

Undyne was the first to try and refocus the group. You glanced at her before you looked down at Alphys.

“I...well, I need help,” you said quietly, “I...My SOUL is...it's…”

You sighed, trying to find the words. Both Undyne and Sans glanced at each other, but Alphys looked curious.

“M-may I?” ALphys made a small motion with her hands toward your chest.

You knew normally it would be something personal to ask or to willingly show your SOUL, but all of them had seen it in battle and the fact was, you trusted everyone. You swallowed, but nodded.

Alphys made a hesitant motion with her clawed hand; your SOUL emerged, but you glanced away. You didn’t want to see it or their reactions to seeing it. Alphys’s mouth fell open a little and Papyrus actually gasped.

Your SOUL still looked like it was made of glass, and the color was a faded, almost a watery, pink than the deep red that all of them remembered. The cracks that you had memorized were deep and spread across the surface in a spiderweb-like pattern on one side; the other side had one long crack that almost went all the way around.

“O-oh dear,” Alphys breathed, “Y-you...th-there’s a-a lot y-you a-are hurting f-from.”

You gave a half-hearted shrug, “I’m sure I hurt other people worse.:”

“P-pain is relative,” Alphys looked nervous, “B-but n-no o-one’s pain is m-more important th-than a-anyone else’s.”

You froze and looked down at her fro a long moment before you leaned down and wrapped your arms around her neck and buried your face in her shoulder. Alphys felt you tremble as you tried not to cry.

Sans felt an ache in his ribcage watching you try to not break down while Alphys comforted you. The ache turned into a warm memory, one of what it felt like to hold you…

“SO WHAT MUST WE DO TO HELP, HUMAN?” Papyrus’s booming voice brought Sans back to reality and made you slowly pull away from Alphys.

“The liquid DETERMINATION,” You said, glancing at the fridge that Flowey damaged, but didn’t break open, “I...I don’t have enough anymore to even do a RESET; I almost don’t even remember how to feel it anymore.”

Alphys immediately looked uncomfortable and her hands started to fiddle with each other, “I d-don’t kn=know i-i-if that w-would b-be a g-good idea.”

“Because of the amalgamates?” You asked quietly, and the way Alphys’s head dropped told you that you were right.

“frisk should be fine,” Sans broke in, “i don’t remember much about your experiments, but humans are a lot more resilient.”

Undyne snorted, “Alphys, if anyone can make it work, it’s you!”

Alphys blushed at that and you smiled at her, “I trust you, Alphy.”

“I-I suppose i-it c-could w-w-work,” Alphys said before she nodded, “D-do you w-want t-to do it n-now?”

You weren’t in any hurry, but you nodded anyway. Alphys took a shaky breath before moving toward the unit and using her magic to open it. The inside glowed multiple colors, but Alphys closed the unit before you could count how many colors were in it.

The needle that she produced made you swallow hard and shiver--it looked longer than your finger, but you took a short breath and stood your ground. Gaster wanted to be whole again and it would take as much DETERMINATION as you could muster in order to save him…

You almost gagged when you saw Alphys was focusing on your SOUL, but didn’t move away. You had taken a lot of damage to your SOUL, this was just a needle.

It would be fine.

You believed it a little less as Alphys reached forward and gently held the heart shaped part of your being and felt her hand tremble slightly against it. You bit your tongue and pressed your lips together and closed your eyes, trying to picture Gaster, finally free…

The feeling of the needle sliding into your glass SOUL and the image in your head filled you with DETERMINATION.

You let out the breath you didn’t know you’d been holding and opened your eyes.

Alphys stood still, empty needle in hand as she let her other one drop. Your SOUL didn’t look much different, and you almost pouted.

“H-how do you f-feel?”

You opened your mouth to tell her you felt fine, but your SOUL suddenly throbbed, sending a wave of pain through your body that nearly threw you backwards and you stumbled backwards, trying to compensate. All it did was delay your crash to the floor when your SOUL throbbed again, it's outline pulsing in time with the throb.

Your ears felt like static filled them, but you realized with a jolt that it was screaming-- _your_ screaming.

The pain shot from one point in your body to another, never staying in one place long as you curled in on yourself. You could hear your screaming, and it drowned out other noises that tried to take your attention. You felt something warm pressed against your back and something wrapping around you to stop your thrashing; by the end, all you could do was tremble.

Sans had reacted almost on instinct the moment you started to scream. The others stood in stark silence and shock, though Alphys curled in on herself, her voice coming out in panicked shrieks.

“I-I didn’t kn-kn-know!”

Undyne moved to Alphys’s side, trying to comfort the woman as she started to cry.

Papyrus looked too shocked to move, but watched his brother intently.

Sans had moved toward you and had to dodge more than one flailing limb as he moved to sit behind you and yanked you up by your shoulders until you were in his lap, his arms wrapping around you tightly while your back pressed into his ribcage.

“hey, hey, hey,” He was trying to get your attention through your screams, but he wasn’t deterred when you didn’t even seem to hear him, “shh...shh...i know it hurts, kiddo, deep breaths; come on, you can handle this…”

Even as he spoke, Sans felt like the floor was dropping from under him. An image of you, bloody and dead--killed by _him_ \--in his arms, his voice broken and begging you to RESET hit him so hard that his voice faltered and cracked.

“don’t….don’t RESET, frisk,” Sans found himself saying into your ears, though he had no idea if you could hear him over your own loud groans of pain, “please, just come back from this, we can make everything right, we can…”

He didn’t know if he was trying to convince you or himself anymore, but he found himself resting his forehead onto your shoulder as he held you tighter.

You tried to retreat from consciousness, but the DETERMINATION clouding your mind kept you in the present.

_Stop screaming, dammit,_ Chara didn’t have to yell, as he spoke directly into your pain-muddled mind, _Hey, calm down, and focus; this isn’t something that can kill you…_

You took in a shaky breath before taking another, trying to keep your body still as you tried to focus through the pain. Now that you weren’t letting it take over everything, you could hear Sans in your ear, his voice sounding so desperate that it took you a minute before you realized what he was saying.

Sans almost jumped when he felt you shake your head decisively, “N...No more RESETs.”

You sounded tired, and your voice cracked, but he nodded at your words.

It was another moment before you felt the warmth of another hand on your shoulder and you looked up. Papyrus, looking uncharacteristically shy and unsure was gently touching your shoulder. You forced a smile and swallowed thickly.

“I...I’m ok,” You said quietly, “It...just really hurts…”

Gazing across at Undyne and Alphys, you saw Undyne watching you carefully before she said to Alphys, “C’mon, nerd, look; Frisk is fine, you haven’t done anything wrong!”

There was a flash of movement and your eyes moved away from the two women to the far wall. A shadow moved again and you noticed a door that had never been there before. You knew where it lead, and you knew who was waiting on the other side; a lump formed in your throat, but you reached out to touch Sans’s hand.

“I..have to go,” You gently pulled against his hold, but he hesitated.

“where?” He tried to follow your gaze, but he couldn’t from behind you.

“Gaster’s waiting,” Your breath hitched as another wave of pain hit you and you saw the door flicker, but you grit your teeth, willing it to stay.

Sans loosened his grip and you shakily got to your feet, almost stumbling but you felt Papyrus steady you. Walking felt like a chore and your balance shifted with every step. Still, you pressed on, the new DETERMINATION pushing you until you reached the doorknob and pulled.

Sans felt his eyes widen when you glitched and then disappeared.

“Wh-What!?” Undyne’s voice was nearly as loud as Papyrus’s as he shouted, “NYEH!?” at the same time.

Alphys was frozen, like Sans was, staring at the place you had disappeared.

You felt your body float as you entered the door, but there was still something solid beneath your feet, so you pressed on. The void was bright and white, though you still felt like you couldn’t see anything, as if darkness was what pressed in on your eyes instead. There was no sound, from what you could gather, not even your footsteps echoed in this empty place.

You walked and you could _feel_ time distorting and stretching, making minutes and hours feel the exact same. Had you been walking for seconds or years? You glanced behind you, but the door was nowhere in sight. Did that mean it was gone completely? How would you get back? Did it matter anymore?

_ ”DiD yOu KnOw ThAt NoThInG aNd EvErYtHiNg ArE sO mUcH aLiKe ThAt It BeNdS pErCePtIoN?” _

You turned around quickly and caught sight of Gaster, his body more like a blob, but his face turned directly to you.

“Hello, Gaster,” You said easily, offering him a genuine smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and please visit my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/)


	14. Void

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyya~
> 
> I'm thinking we're somewhere near the halfway point (maybe? or perhaps its already passed, haha). I wonder if anyone would be interested in seeing the playlist I listen to while I write; if so, let me know in the comments or in my ask box!
> 
> A shorter chapter today, my lovelies!

_”It FeElS aS iF i HaVe BeEn HeRe FoR bUt A mOmEnT, bUt ThE yEaRs StIlL eAt AwAy At Me,”_ Gaster’s voice echoed and his language seemed to materialize in the air, the letters shaking and glitching near his head, staying even after he spoke them and moved on, _”WhO aRe YoU, iS wHaT i AsK, bUt I aLrEaDy KnOw ThE aNsWer.”_

You felt an ache in your chest as Gaster rambled. Looking around, you could see how unforgiving this eternal void could be and reached out to touch him. He shrunk away at first, but then leaned forward to meet your hand, almost desperately lunging for it. You could see his simultaneous hatred and desperation for some form of contact with another living being and it broke your heart.

Gaster’s body felt unstable and as if his body kept shifting under your touch. He was warm, and felt almost liquidy, but contained.

His body wrapped around your hand, holding it before his body raised slightly. It took you a moment to realize it was him standing up. Your eyes looked around you in almost a full circle, but you had no idea where a door-- _any_ door--would be.

“Where can we go…?” You asked, mostly to yourself.

_”ApPeArEd FrOm NoThInG, bAcK fRoM nOtHiNg; IsN’t LiFe LiKe A rIvEr? FLoWiNg, FrEe, BuT sTuCk CuTtInG tHrOuGh ThE sAmE pAtCh Of LaNd,”_ Gaster rambled as you picked a direction, _”BuT sOoN, yOu ReAcH aN oCeAn AnD iSn’T tHaT lOvElY?”_

“Gaster,” You glanced up at him, still holding his hand--which was clearly a hand now, bone white and with a hole in the middle of his palm--and leading him along, “Do you know anything about getting out?”

“No ‘Out’,” Gaster suddenly said in english which startled you, but it was short lived, _”HoW dId YoU gEt In?”_

You paused, realizing that your memories were fuzzy on that subject.

“I...I don’t know,” You admitted, and stopped walking.

_”ThEn, WhY aRe YoU hErE?”_ Gaster didn’t let go or stop following you, but turned to look down at you.

“I...I’m here…”

Your mind drew a blank. Why were you here in the void? Was there any reason? You looked up at Gaster’s white face and studied it for what felt like eternity. The cracks in his face--one going up from his right eye, the other going down between his left and and the corner of his mouth--and you realized that Gaster looked a little skeletal.

Skeletal? The information brought a tingle to the back of your mind, and you thought of snow. Snow, and puzzles, and orange and blue; puns and hot dogs, and laughing until you cried; and hoodies, and a trash tornado, lying beneath a skeleton whose fingers moved so slowly and so gently that you weren’t surprised in the least when he said, “i lo-”

“Sans!” You said suddenly, his name hitting your chest--more specifically, your SOUL--so hard, you actually took a step backward.

Gaster froze at the name, turning his head to look at you, the light in his eyes gone.

“Sans and Papyrus,” You looked up at Gaster and squeezed his hand gently, “I’m here to return you to reality and save you! Your sons are waiting for you.”

Gaster stared at you with lightless eyes for a long moment, not moving or saying anything. Then tears, blue from his left and orange from his right, started to fall, his body quivering as if freezing.

The sight of Gaster’s tears and the longing on his face filled with DETERMINATION.

This time when you looked around, you saw a door in the distance and you squared your shoulders. Your steps were sure as you lead Gaster along.

~*~

“She disappeared!”

Undyne reacted the same way she reacted to most things: in anger.

“Is this a RESET, loser?” Undyne rounded on Sans, who was still sitting on the floor.

“no,” Sans answered before shrugging, “at least, i don’t think so; she’s never done _that_ before.”

“Sh-she’s s-saving Dr. Gaster, r-right?” Alphys glanced up at Undyne, tear stains still on her scales, “Wh-where is h-he?”

“WHERE WOULD ONE GO AFTER FALLING INTO THE CORE?” Papyrus piped up for what felt like the first time in hours.

“He’d be dusted,” Undyne threw her arms in the air.

Alphys shook her head, “Dr. Gaser i-injected himself w-with th-the seven major t-traits that a-are f-found i-in human S-SOULs; doing th-that may h-have made h-his S-SOUL l-linger on.”

The other three Monsters paused and looked at each other. It was a completely unheard of thing for Monsters to linger. Sure, Napstablook and even Mettaton were ghosts, but they were ghost _Monsters_ , the same way Sans and Papyrus were skeleton Monsters.

“THE HUMAN CAN REMEMBER EACH PREVIOUS TIMELINE WITHOUT FAIL,” Papyrus put his hands on his hips and stood straight, “SHE WILL NOT FAIL!”

Sans hadn’t said much as he listened to the other talk and puzzle. It was almost amusing, except all he could do was worry about you. The longer you were gone, the more he was sure that you would RESET...and what would that do? Everything was already a mess and the nihilist in him wanted to laugh at how _hopeful_ he got that maybe, just maybe, you had really mean that there wouldn’t be anymore RESETs…Sans stood, almost willing himself to say something.

And then you were there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and please visit my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/)


	15. Don't Step Back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyya~
> 
> I'm thinking of writing little drabbles for my tumblr, just little situationals. What do you guys think? Wanna give me ideas? Just leave an ask --> [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/)

All four Monster froze as you and Gaster appeared, walking from behind one of the refrigeration units like the both of you had been playing some kind of game of hide-and-seek. Sans’s eyes moved from you--whole and save _you_ \--to the man standing next to you.

Gaster’s body no longer looked or felt like it was made of water. He was tall, taller even than Papyrus, and thin; he wore all black and his hands, both of which had large holes in his palms, were white and disjointed from his body. They floated easily next to him without swaying or bobbing.

“d-dad?” Sans felt his throat dry up, even as he took a hesitant step forward.

Gaster’s eyes fell on Sans, and a smile finally broke out on his face before he spoke.

_”My little Comic Sans,”_ Gaster let go of your hand and in three strides, his long legs had him across the room and scooping up the shorter skeleton, his two hands pressing into Sans’s spine to hold him to Gaster’s chest.

You smiled, feeling happy for the first time in a long time. A giggle even escaped your throat as you noticed that the size difference made Sans look like a toddler in Gaster’s arms.

Alphys was suddenly at your elbow, gently tugging your sweater.

“A-are you o-ok?” Alphys kept her voice down and you nodded.

“I don’t remember much,” You shrugged, “But I’m fine; better really. I haven’t felt this _whole_ in a while.”

Alphys nodded and motioned to your chest and without hesitating, you nodded. She repeated her motions from before and you felt the tug that meant your SOUL was leaving your chest. The room filled with a soft red glow and you felt relieved to see the color returned. You could still see the cracks, and it still looked like it was made of glass, but it was the first sign of hope you had in awhile.

Papyrus hadn’t moved since Gaster had appeared. A stirring in his memory told him that this Monster was indeed his father, but Papyrus wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do. Affection passed easily between Sans and Papyrus, but Sans had been the only parental figure Papyrus had ever known. Gaster was basically a stranger, one who Papyrus ached to remember but couldn’t.

Gaster suddenly was looking at him, Sans still held tightly.

_”Papyrus,”_ Gaster said the name easily and with such tenderness that Papyrus felt himself move before he thought about it and was pulled into a tight embrace, just like sans, _”My little babybones, Pap; grown up.”_

_This is sappier than a romance covered in syrup,_ Chara’s voice was suddenly in your head, _Really, it's sweet, but shouldn’t you be worried about Asriel?_

You swallowed, glancing at the unit Flowey had tried to break open, It still looked intact, but yo9u had to wonder why he had been so keen on trying to get into it.

He already had DETERMINATION; it was why he had been able to control the RESETs before you had fallen into the Underground. Was he after the other traits? Would he keep trying to go after them after everyone left?

Alphys followed your gaze and quietly said, “F-Flowey w-wouldn’t have been a-able to f-force it o-open, but s-someone like h-him w-wouldn’t b-be a-able to understand th-that.”

You glanced down at her before nodding, “will you be ok if Flowey shows up again?”

Undyne was the one to cut in, “I’ll stay here, punk! The other guards will be fine until this business is over!”

A smile appeared on your face, “That, and you want to be close to Alphys.”

Both women froze, dark blushes appearing on their faces. Undyne stuttered some comeback and Alphys had been reduced to unintelligible squeals. You giggled before turning to stare at Gaster and his family--all of them were talking happily now--and your smile fell a little.

They were a family reunited and you were amazingly happy for them, but you almost wanted to disappear.

Gaster had watched your progression through the timelines, and undoubtedly watched you kill Papyrus not once, but twice, and watched as you fought with the intent to kill Sans. There was no doubt in your head that none of them would want to help or be around you now that you had fulfilled your promise.

A glance toward Alphys and Undyne told you they were engrossed with each other as well; you felt a sting of loneliness hit you and you swallowed before discreetly moving toward the door and heading toward the elevator again.

_Not even going to say goodbye?_ Chara waited for your answer before making a clicking noise with his tongue when you didn’t reply, _Rude_.

You didn’t answer him until you were in the elevator and the door had slid closed.

“You were right, Chara,” Your voice was quiet, but you didn’t worry about chara being able to hear you, “They’ll never trust me...I just...don’t belong anymore; maybe I never did and I was just fooling myself.”

Chara regarded your SOUL as you spoke and already saw the bright red dimming. More so than even himself, your attachment to others and your emotions about that attachment had a huge impact on the condition of your SOUL. He’d been able to observe it first-hand as he guided you to kill all the Monsters you had once befriended and cherished.

Chara felt a pang as he realized that the way you felt, the way you tried, the way that you wanted--deep down at your core--to help each and every Monster here in the Underground was a reminder of what he had felt, all those years ago.

_...I wasn’t right,_ Chara’s voice was quiet in your head as the elevator doors opened.

You were so shocked by his admission that you almost didn’t get off the elevator before the doors closed. You slipped off quickly.

“Chara?” you questioned quietly, your feet planted on the spot.

_They remember the real you,_ Chara answered, _They’ll all remember how much you really care and it won’t be a question of whether they trust you, but how soon you earn it back. Honestly, I’d be shocked if most of them_ don’t _trust you again already._

You felt yourself choke up, but you nodded, “...Thank you, Chara.”

Chara grumbled something, but before you could ask him to repeat it, you felt him disengage with you.

Alone, but no longer feeling alone, you left Alphys’s lab and began to use the back route to get deeper into Hotland.

~*~

“Hey, where did the punk go?” Undyne’s voice broke through everyone’s focus.

All of the Monsters glanced around before Alphys moved to one of the terminals on the walls and started working on it.

“IF THE HUMAN’S DETERMINATION HAS BEEN RESTORED, THEN PERHAPS SHE HAS MOVED FORWARD,” Papyrus was the first to pipe up.

“If that’s true, I have to try and get ahold of 01 and 02,” Undyne pulled out her phone and cursed, “The reception down here sucks, Al!”

“It's a-a s-secret lab,” Alphys shrugged before saying, “F-Frisk is h-heading th-through Hotland. W-we need t-to get u-upstairs; I-I have t-to call o-off Mettaton.”

“well, lets get hot on her trail,” Sans was back ont eh ground, his hands shoved into his pockets. Papyrus groaned, but Gaster chuckled.

_”It would be wise to help Frisk succeed,”_ Gaster folded his hands behind his back, _”The truth is that she really is the only one who can bring down the barrier and actually save everyone.”_

“Okay, explain this to me, old man,” Undyne leveled one of her hands with Gaster, “Why is it so damn important to save EVERYONE??”

Gaster appeared thoughtful before he answered, _”Call it fate or pure stubbornness on her part, but the magic of the RESET will only disappear once all the Monsters in the Underground are saved.”_

“SO THE HUMAN FEELS COMPELLED,” Papyrus summed it up.

_”Perhaps,”_ Gaster answered, before he admitted, _”It is something I am hoping she can answer.”_

“well, no time like the present,” Sans turned to leave, but froze.

Standing in front of the door was four Monsters. They were gray in color, and their eyes were deep pools of white, never ending and eternal in their sockets. One looked like the bunny in charge of the shop in Snowden, the second looked like Monster Kid; the third looked like Muffet and the fourth resembled a Froggit.

“Wh-what a-are th-those?” Alphys squeaked from her place near Undyne.

“Gaster answered, _”Don’t be afraid to destroy them; they are merely echoes of previous timelines…”_

“WE DO NOT HAVE TIME TO WASTE HERE,” Papyrus made a bone appear in his hand regardless,” THE HUMAN NEEDS THE GREAT PAPYRUS AS BACKUP!”

“ditto, bro,” Sans felt his left eye activate, “we can make this quick; no need to do anything _off-color_ to them.”

“SANS!”

“G-guys!” Alphys suddenly squeaked, “F-Frisk has a-already f-found M-Mettaton’s f-first trap!”

All five Monsters tensed, expecting a time shift from a SAVE--when was the last time you had SAVEd?--but Gaster had other plans.

_”Sans,”_ Gaster’s own eyes were glowing and seven disembodied hands had appeared around him, _”Use your ability and go to her. Keep her safe.”_

Sans hesitated, but glanced at the seven hands before nodding.

“see you soon,” Sans winked out of existence.

When he appeared at his destination, he immediately had to dodge one of the lasers from Mettaton.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and please visit my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/) My ask is always open!


	16. Performer

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyya~
> 
> I'm so thankful for all of you, really. I post my chapters and I always prepare myself for no comments or no kudos or even no new hits, and all of you end up here *blushies*
> 
> So, thank you all, it means so much to me~
> 
> And, just to let you all know, I do read all my comments; I may not respond for various reasons, but I read every single one, including responses to reviews.
> 
> I think you're all special, and feel free to drop my an ask on my tumblr, I'd love to get to know you guys~
> 
> [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/)

“holy-”

He saw you kneeling on the ground; a glance told him you only had 2/20 HP. Sans cursed.

“Oh, darling~” Mettaton hadn’t yet changed out of his usual box form, but he wasn’t holding back, “I wonder if my intellect can come up with some way to keep hurting you without killing you. No need to give you the chance to RESET on me~ Not when you and I are having so much _fun~_ ”

Sans broke in, “hate to interrupt, mettaton--frisk and i got to get past you.”

Hearing Sans’s voice made your head snap up and your eyes met his briefly before Sans focused on Mettaton again. You tried to stand, but your knees buckled and you ended up on the floor again.

“Sans!” Mettaton sounded indignant, “This _human_ is dangerous!”

“c’mon, mettaton,” Sans looked bored, “i’m not all that hungry right now.”

Both you and Mettaton looked confused, until Mettaton asked, “Darling, whatever do you mean?”

“just saying i’m not interested in you _hamming_ this up,” Sans shoved his hands into his pockets, a smile on his face.

There was a beat of silence before you started to shake from giggles. Mettaton’s faceplate showed an ‘ **. . .** ’ before he huffed.

“I’m not some joke, Sans! How am I supposed to work in these conditions!? The human isn’t even scared anymore, darling, just look at her!”

Mettaton’s reaction simply made you snort and begin a new round of giggles.

Sans shrugged, “aw, c’mon mettaton; you’ve met-al me before. i can’t help but be a show-stopper.”

You were holding your stomach while Chara groaned inside your head.

“Be serious,” Mettaton whined, “Darling, Alphys ordered me to not let the human pass…”

Before Sans could make another joke, Mettaton pulled out a chainsaw, revving it a couple of times. The laughter went out of you almost immediately.

Sans paused before stepping a little closer to you, “i guess i _saw_ your point; no need to yank my _chain_.”

Mettaton nearly growled, “I swear, Sans, I will have a bone to pick with you by the end of this-”

The robot froze when he realized what he said before he groaned, one hand moving to smack himself, “I can’t _believe_ I just _said_ that!”

Sans chuckled and reached down to help you to your feet while Mettaton berated himself.

“think you can run, kiddo?” Sans said it quietly.

“Maybe,” You winced as you finally got to your feet, “Well, maybe not…”

Sans mentally cursed, and tried not to focus on the laser burns on your skin or clothes.

“I’ll keep you alive,” His eyes returned to Mettaton, “I’m not half-bad at dodging.”

“I remember,” Your eyes were on Mettaton as well, “Why hasn’t Alphys called Mettaton off yet?”

“a few uninvited guests,” Sans answered vaguely as Mettaton finally finished his dramatic self reprimand, “we’ll have to hold out or find an escape route.”

You glanced around and tried to remember the last time you were here. You had trekked along at a good pace and it wasn’t unti lyou reached Mettaton’s play stage that you had been hindered.

Now you glanced at the floor and saw the outline of the trapdoor you had fallen through more than once. You glanced at Mettaton and tried to think quickly.

“H-hey!” You drew the attention of both Sans and Mettaton, “Isn’t this your cue for the heroic monologue?”

Sans groaned, but Mettaton practically beamed, “Oh darling~! That is absolutely true!”

Mettaton turned in place, his back to both of you while you quickly made a silent motion to Sans.

“A-hem~” Mettaton started, “You know, Frisk darling, I can remember when I first saw you, on Alphys’s monitor…”

Sans blinked, not seeing the trap door at first. When you motioned again, he caught on and glanced at the area off-stage, past Mettaton, where a lever was placed.

“...and lo-and-behold! Alphys decided then and there to try and befriend you! I had my reservations…”

Mettaton was pacing back and forth now.

Sans used his gravity magic on the lever, pulling it down silently. You watched Mettaton keenly while the two of you prepared to jump down.

“Now, I asked myself--” Mettaton turned to face you and Sans dramatically, but both of you had disappeared.

Mettaton whined, “Oh, how _rude!_ ”

You winced as the fall took you down to 1/20 HP. Sans managed to land without hurting himself, which left you relieved. He only has 1/1 HP to start with.

“you gonna be ok?” Sans asked, offering you a hand to help you up.

You took it gratefully and winced when you stood. Your ankle throbbed dully, but you could place enough weight on it to walk. Past the deactivated floor trap, you saw a twinkle and offered Sans a small smile.

“There's a SAVE point over there...I should be fine if I can get to it.”

Sans helped you across the puzzle and toward where you pointed, but he has to admit, he couldn't see anything.

You reached your hand toward what he thought was nothing, but he knew the instant you touched whatever you could see. Magic seemed to flow out of nowhere and your HP jumped to max out.

Having Sans help you, and remembering Mettaton from previous timelines filled you with DETERMINATION.

Sans let you steady yourself before letting you stand on your own. He almost wanted to ask, but he wasn't sure even you understood it.

“we should wait for the others-”

You shook your head, “I have to keep going; there's no stopping now.”

Sans hesitated, but asked, “why not?”

You shrugged, “I...I don't know; there's just something in me that keeps whispering to keep pushing on. What I do know is that if I stop now, I won't be able to save Character or Asriel.”

He wanted to protest, but sighed instead, “alright, you say we need to go, then let's go.”

Now you hesitated, but before you could protest Sans cut in.

“you can't leave me behind,” He shrugged, “Short of killing me, anyway.”

A shudder passed over you and you shook your head, “Let's go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and please visit my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/) My ask is always open!


	17. Clarification

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyya~
> 
> Just a warning, this is a little backstory heavy; just a clarification of what happened between Sans and the Reader~

If there was one thing Sans could say, it was that once your DETERMINATION was restored, you didn’t let much distract you.

You bypassed the Nicecream guy, but offered him a pleasant smile and a wave, before you were up the next flight of stairs. Mettaton must have given up for now, because neither of you were stopped.

The heat didn’t bother Sans, even in his hoodie, but you soon slowed and pulled your familiar blue and purple sweater up and over your head to reveal a black tank top underneath. Your childhood sweater was tied around your waist and Sans took note of how overstretched and faded it had become.

Sans had the flash of a memory of your skin and feeling it under his phalanges and turned to face front again. You caught his look and swallowed.

“I...I’m sorry,” You felt compelled to say it again, though you said it quietly, and a part of you hoped he didn’t hear you.

“what for?” Sans asked without looking at you.

“For the past,” You answered, “For...Papyrus.”

Sans glanced at you and saw you were looking down at the path. He sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets, silent for a moment to think about how he wanted to respond.

“just...just tell me what happened,” Sans finally said, “we were _happy_ before, so...why?”

Your throat went dry and you took in a short breath, “We...you remember that timeline…?”

“you’ve known for a long time that I could vaguely remember timelines,” Sans glanced at you, looking unamused, “don’t pretend you don’t know that.”

A pit opened in your stomach as a realization hit you in the chest. Your heart dropped into said pit a moment after. He remembered. On top of that, everyone was remember every timeline now, so why would he be different…?

You felt like you were choking and your steps slowed. Your eyes were on him and you watched as he didn’t notice, then stopped to turn and stare back at you.

The words wouldn't’ come out, but mercifully, Sans didn’t let you flounder for long.

“what happened to ‘us’, Frisk?” Sans asked quietly, “tell me what snapped; why wasn’t what we had good enough?”

Those words cut you, but you knew you deserved them. A sigh escaped you, but you glanced around. You both weren’t far from the MTT Resort and so you motioned for Sans to keep walking with you and you started to speak when he fell into step with you.

“I...I _was_ happy,” You started, “Please believe that much, Sans.”

He made a noncommittal noise, so you kept talking, “It really started to end when I had that really bad nightmare, you remember the one?”

Sans let himself fall into the memory, even though he didn’t answer you. Sans himself was no stranger to nightmares, so he had been awake when you had started thrashing around in your sleep, sobbing and begging someone to leave you alone. Before you would wake up, he’d had to straddle your naked body, and pin your arms in place so you wouldn’t hurt yourself or him. When he’d tried to get you to open up about the nightmare, you’d refused--first politely, then angrily.

You continued when the lights of his eyes disappeared from the memory.

“The nightmare was both Gaster and Chara, fighting for my attention. Both of them told me I was failing everyone, including you, by not trying to leave the Underground,” You pressed your lips together before adding, “I was just so, so tired, Sans. I had already failed at saving everyone countless hundreds of times and it felt as if all I was doing was hitting my head against a wall a hundred times in hopes that it would fall, but nothing changed.”

Sans was watching you out of the corner of his socket now.

“I wanted to stop and take a break, to try and convince myself I could just… _stay_...Then well,” You shrugged, “I fell in love.”

Sans felt the pull of his SOUL and tried not to remember.

He’d watched you age from a small child he regarded as a troublemaker, with your ability to RESET the timeline, then to the goofy teen that hit puberty like a brick wall--all of a sudden and explosively--then to the young woman who walked into Snowden looking so tired and so...defeated.

He thought that was the first time your SOUL had started to dim. Sans had ignored it for a long time during that timeline--he was busy keeping Papyrus out of trouble and keeping you alive as more and more Monsters discovered you were living with both him and Papyrus. He first started noticing his attraction to you as a woman when it had become obvious your clothes--most of which were borrowed from previous timelines as far as he could tell--weren’t going to last and you needed something suitable for Snowden. Having no idea about decency--you were a child who never bothered to regard gender and no shyness since you knew each of them your whole life--you’d started to borrow both Sans’s and Papyrus’s clothes.

Noticing how much differently you filled out his hoodies certainly helped his growing attraction.

It wasn’t until he’d had his first real moment alone with you--away from people and problems one night when neither of you could sleep--that he realized how beautiful you’d become; and smart, so smart.

You both had spent the whole night debating SOUL colors and you’d even taught him a thing or two. The moment he’d fallen in love though, that didn’t happen until Undyne finally found out about you living with the brothers.

She’d come, raging mad, to their home while both Sans and Papyrus had been out on Sentry duty; you’d been on the phone with Sans when Undyne had burst into the front door, cursing and throwing spears.

Sans had teleported home, wanting to protect you, but you didn’t need him for that. He found you gracefully dodging and blocking all of Undyne’s attacks in the familiar way that you’d always had. You’d been through this hundreds of times before and it was haunting to see how you almost could read Undyne’s mind.

Before Undyne could give up, you finally ACTed by telling her the truth.

“I’m not here to destroy the world; I’m not even here to save it,” You said, when there was a pause in the battle, “That’s for someone stronger, like you. I just want my moment of happiness in life...I don’t think that’s too much to ask for, after everything that’s happened.”

Sans knew he was in love the moment he realized how badly he wanted to be that happiness. How badly he wanted to be your rest.

A lump formed in his throat when he realized it was something he still wanted.

You were still talking, “both compelled me, saying that Flowey wouldn’t wait forever...and I believed them; that’s why I left that night, without saying anything. I...I’d hoped that I could end it quickly and be back before too long passed, but…”

“But all of us found you, before Asgore could even initiate the fight,” Sans finished, realization hitting him so hard that he almost stopped walking.

Time had been fuzzy for him for a time during that timeline.

“Flowey caught you all,” You supplied, “But he remembers the timelines just as well as I do; he knew I was trying to end it, but he...he doesn’t want that.”

Sans heard your hesitation and knew there was more to it, but you were already speaking again.

“Flowey doesn't have a SOUL, so he doesn’t feel anything with any depth,” You swallowed, “So it was nothing for him to kill all of you, over and over and over…”

You fell silent for a moment, and Sans could see that you were in that timeline again, watching everyone die all over again. Your whimper proved him right, and he reached out instinctively, wrapping your hand in his. He felt you jump a little, but he kept looking ahead, toward the elevator that would lead the two of you forward.

You squeezed his hand gently, and pulled strength from the fact that he squeezed back, “He reloaded SAVE after SAVE, and I...I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t reach my own SAVE or even try to RESET…”

“Finally, Chara managed to let me absorb his DETERMINATION, but my SAVE had been destroyed by Flowey...the only thing I could do was RESET, and Chara…he told me that this RESET would be different; that no one, not even you, would remember anything, not even ‘us’ and I...I thought it was basically all over.”

Sans wanted to say something, _anything_ , to you but all he could do was follow you through the elevator doors and watch you press the appropriate button.

The elevator started to move and you spoke again, “I spent a long time between the timelines; I thought I lost you on top of failing everyone again...I lost all of my DETERMINATION and Chara had to be the one to bring us back to the beginning, but that…”

You felt your SOUL quiver before you continued, “Chara was in control of me. He was in charge and he...I couldn’t...he just kept killing, everyone who we came across, and I couldn’t stop him, Sans, everytime I tried, he just kept going on and on about Flowey and how weak I was and then Papyrus…”

You choked, but forced the words out, “I forced a RESET the first time Chara killed him.”

Sans wanted to be angry, but all he felt was an empty ache in his chest.

Before you could continue, the elevator stuttered to a stop and the lights flickered. Both of you looked up as the intercom started to buzz to life.

“Hello, darlings~” Mettaton’s voice echoed in the small space, “I hope you’re comfortable because I’ve locked the elevator down; neither of you will be going anywhere while I plan the next be act for the two of us, Frisk darling~”

Sans nearly rolled his eyes, but Mettaton’s voice was now talking to him.

“And Sans~” Mettaton’s sing-song voice instantly got dark, “ _Don’t even think about teleporting anywhere!_ I’ve rigged a sensor that will detect magic and give the user a healthy zap~! Your one HP won’t survive, I’m sure~”

Your eyes widened before you yelled, “Mettaton! Stop this!”

If he could hear you, he ignored you.

“Ta-ta, lovelies~”

You fell back against the wall with a huff,” Well, that just happened…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and please visit my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/) My ask is always open!


	18. Trapped in an Elevator

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyya~
> 
> This chapter isn't very long and is mostly Fluff~ Hope you enjoy!!

Absently, you thought about how lucky it was that you weren’t claustrophobic. While the lights hadn’t flickered again, you glanced up at them every now and then, wondering if they would eventually go out and leave both you and Sans in the dark.

You glanced at Sans from the corner of your eyes and tried to gauge him as best you could.

Not long after Mettaton had left the two of you trapped, he’d sat down in a corner and started to doze--a signature ability of his, you noted wryly--but right now, he was staring at the doors. It was hard to read a face that didn’t move a lot in the first place, but Sans was a mystery that you couldn’t crack even years into knowing him.

He hadn’t asked about everything you’d told him, or even given his own thoughts on the matter and you found yourself leaning back into your own corner, pulling your legs up to your chest and holding them tightly. One hand moved up to your hair, twirling a strand between your fingers slowly.

“what’s botherin’ ya, kiddo?” Sans’s voice made your eyes snap to him, and you found him watching you.

“Ah?” You blinked slowly.

“you always play with your hair like that when you're upset,” Sans supplied.

A blush appeared on your face and you sputtered, “G-geez, you know me pretty well…”

“well, we were _together_ , frisk,” He chided, “i think i can say i know you pretty well.”

You glanced away, “Yeah, I guess you can...You know me better than anyone else, that’s for sure.”

Sans paused, before a sigh left him, “look, kiddo, i won’t push you to tell me what’s buggin’ ya; you already know i’m not like that, but we are stuck in an elevator, so maybe i can _lift_ your mood, eh?”

You snorted and giggled into your knees, a knot that you hadn’t realized was in your chest loosening enough for you to take a steadying breath and finally answer him.

“I’m worried about you--about us,” you still couldn’t look at him, afraid of what you’d see on his face, “I know everything that happened after--I know it's probably the most fucked up thing to see after a RESET and everything that happened after...I just...I still love you, Sans…”

You’re voice got quiet toward the end, and you found yourself staring at your knees, hard enough that you were sure you could tear a hole in them if you had half a mind to. Silence filled the elevator and dread filled your stomach; rejection, that was your first thought. Worse, what if he hated you?

You had to swallow bile at that thought.

You could handle rejection on principle--you’d killed his brother--you could even handle Sans not feeling anything for you anymore, but hate? You were sure you would lose your DETERMINATION all over again…

Sans was watching you now that the silence was taking the elevator again. He could see the nervous quake of your bottom lip--damn, he could remember how soft they felt--and the way your eyes shifted from one knee to the other, as if trying to predict what he’d say by reading the lines of your skin.

He still cared about you, that much was true, but there was still so much...so many things he couldn’t rectify in his mind that he couldn’t keep his mind straight.

“frisk,” He finally breathed, leaning his head back into the corner with a dull -thnk- that made you look at him, “i don’t know what you want me to say to you.”

“The truth,” You answered, “Do you feel anything for me anymore?”

There was that direct way you always addressed everything; the reason why so many were endeared to you, because you always asked what was on your mind and heart and never apologized for it.

He sighed, knowing he couldn’t bring himself to lie to you, “yeah, of course i do; what we had back in that timeline wasn’t something I could just walk away from or forget.”

Your mouth went dry and you felt hope burn in your chest, no matter how much you wanted to stifle it.

“What’s stopping us?” You forced your voice to stay even, quiet.

Sans rubbed his face with one hand. You were relentless when it came down to it and he weighed the options of telling you outright or trying to outlast you until Mettaton turned the elevators back on. Knowing Mettaton, it could be literal _hours_ until everything was perfected enough for him to allow the two of you to continue on…

Where was Alphys and the others? Why haven’t they cut Mettaton off yet?

He glanced at you and took your features in again. Your eyes were almost round and searching his face in a familiar way. Your mouth was parted slightly and he imagined your voice, talking him through the SOUL colors and whispering his name quietly in the dark, the sweet ‘I love you’s and the quiet wishes you spoke into the echoflowers….

How could he not speak?

“there’s...geez, kiddo,” Sans rubbed the back of his spine and he tried to find the right words, “there’s a lot i’m worried about, so much that i don’t know where to start…”

You spoke easily, “You’re still worried about the RESETs, right?”

Sans glanced at you, “well, yeah.”

“I can only promise that I want this to be the final timeline,” You wrapped your arms around your knees, “I don’t...I don’t know what’s going to happen once I try to face Flowey again…”

Damn, he had almost forgot what it felt like to be on the receiving end of that DETERMINED honesty.

“i dunno if i can take anymore RESETs, buddy,” Sans sighed, crossing his arms loosely, “i dunno if i can even let myself hope that you have a chance against Flowey.”

You opened your mouth to respond, but stopped. You couldn’t say you blamed him; you’d been trying to save everyone for over a decade, easily...and you had never been able to win. You couldn’t let yourself give up though.

“I have to win, Sans,” You said, “For everyone, for Chara, Asriel, Gaster...for you, I have to beat Flowey.”

Sans looked across the elevator at you, “that’s not reassuring.”

“It's all I have to give,” You shrugged, “I’m not asking you to believe me, Sans; I sometimes don’t even believe myself. I’m asking that you hold out on doubting me just a little longer. We’ll get past Mettaton and see where we are from there.”

“speaking of mettaton,” Sans glanced up at the intercom as if Mettaton were still there, just listening, “how are you even going to hope to beat him?”

“Most likely the same as last time,” You shrugged, “Even if I have to find a way to sneak around him, I’ll make it to Asgore.”

“yeah, but what if you fail?”

“I can’t, I won’t.”

“frisk,” Sans said exasperated, “you’re not hearing me here, kiddo; don’t you get it? its that ‘what if’ that’s stopping us. i can’t...i can’t get my hopes up, waiting for something to change when all i’ve known for the past 15 years-”

You cut him off, “15 years?”

Sans blinked and glanced at you to see you pale, “yeah, the first time you came walking out of the ruins was about 15 years ago.”

You took a steadying breath and counted to make sure you added up correctly.

“21,” you finally said quietly.

“what?” Sans raised a bony brow.

“I’m 21 years old,” You swallowed, “I...I lost count how long I’ve been down here _ages_ ago and I...I didn’t know how old I was.”

Sans blinked in surprise at you, just staring for a long while he watched you come to terms with your own age. He cursed mentally and had to take steadying breath; this whole situation was pretty messed up, but you didn’t even know your own age? What else was a complete mystery to you? What else had to fall to the wayside because you of all people had been chosen to carry the burden of an entire Underground full of monsters?

“kid,” He said quietly, “you...shit, you’ve been through hell, huh?”

You offered him a half shrug, “I suppose? I fell when I was 6, so all of this is all I really know; there isn’t another way for me, as far as I can tell. I have to get _everyone_ to the surface, or I have to RESET.”

Sans suddenly felt small, as if suddenly compared to a grand scale. He was getting close to 30, but as far as he could tell, he’d been the same age for a very _very_ long time. You….you’d grown up in this process. Your childhood was spent trying to learn the ways of the Underground, your adolescent years spent trying to understand it. While you were supposed to be worrying about boys and your hormones, you’d been trying to save all the Monsters of the Underground and then some, failing over and over and simply refusing to give up.

One timeline; in exchange for your _entire life_ you’d been given one timeline to rest and recover, one timeline that you chose to spend loving him and putting him and Papyrus first, and it was ripped from you by a grand mission that no one, not even you seemed to understand.

He felt his hands start to shake and so he stuffed them into his pockets, his head turning down as he realized that while he knew this was hell because he had the rest of his life to compare it to, you knew nothing but this hell; forever repeating timelines, never telling anyone else or letting anyone else shoulder your responsibility, even to help you.

“damn, kid,” He heard himself say quietly, “i...i can’t find it in me to put up a fight against being with you.”

You blinked and quietly studied him. His eyes were blank and that meant he was upset as far as you could tell. His shoulders were slumped and his head bend toward his chest.

“Sans, don’t,” You took a breath, “Don’t choose to be with me because you think it's inevitable…”

“no, no, god no,” Sans chuckled weakly, “if i didn’t want to be with you, kiddo, i wouldn’t, it's that simple. no, i still love you frisk, i never stopped even when you weren’t yourself. it hurt and i hated myself for it, but i couldn’t stop loving you.”

Tears started to well in your eyes and before he could say anything else you nearly leapt across the elevator and wrapped your arms around his shoulders, burying your face into his jacket. He smelled exactly how you remembered--the scent of ozone and ketchup in equal parts--and it stilled the quake in your SOUL.

His arms wrapped around you almost as soon as you were pressed against him and you hummed into his chest, trying to stem the flow of emotional tears.

“Thank you, Sans,” Your voice was muffled by his jacket, “I couldn’t...I needed….”

You hiccuped and Sans slowly rubbed your back.

This, this felt _right_ to him and for the first time in what felt like eons, he felt whole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and please visit my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/) My ask is always open!


	19. Forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyya~
> 
> So~~~ I have a SHOUTOUT I'd like to make, as a suggestion for all the lovely readers I have:
> 
> [Jack of All Trades](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5482427/chapters/12667529) by the author [CapnHanbers](http://archiveofourown.org/users/CapnHanbers/pseuds/CapnHanbers)
> 
> This is one of my FAVORITE Undertale fanfics and I will completely admit I squealed like a schoolgirl when they responded to my review and gave me permission to give them a shoutout :3

It was a few moments before you could control your emotions enough to pull away from the skeleton, and it was with a sheepish smile.

“Sorry, Sans,” You sniffled and rubbed the last of your tears away, “Let’s get out of here.”

He blinked up at you as you stood, “uh, how’re we supposed to do that, kiddo?”

You didn’t answer him at first as you studied the elevator. Waiting for Mettaton to come back wasn’t a real option that you wanted to consider, so getting out would have to happen on your own. The doors were pressed together, but you were between floors, so you didn’t think it was any kind of possible to do anything that way...the buttons were dark and pressing them did nothing, so you quickly ignored that.

You looked up at the single light above you and blinked when you noticed a small indent in one of the metal panels above you; was that a...handle?

Sans blinked when you motioned for him to stand and was about to ask you what was wrong when you point up at the ceiling.

“Think you can boost me up?”

“probably, but why do you need-” He stopped when he saw what you were pointing at, “alright, kiddo, i’ll boost you.”

He put his back into the corner and clasped his hands together to make a foot hold; you put your shoe into his hands and held onto his shoulders before counting to three and using him as a boost to reach up and grab the handle.

You grunted quietly as you tried to get the leverage you needed to slide open the panel and nearly lost your balance when it finally slid free.

“woah, careful,” Sans said below you, but you were already trying to pull yourself up onto the roof of the elevator.

It was definitely hotter up here, and you saw that the elevator didn’t fill the shaft completely. Peaking over the edge, you swallowed when you saw, way down at the bottom, lava was pooled.

“Sh-shit,” You breathed before looking around, trying to find something, anything that would help you in this situation.

The door to the next floor was at chest level for you, so you stood and carefully walked over to it--ignoring the sounds of the shaft, which made you think the elevator would fall at any moment--and tried to shove your fingertips between the doors. It took a little wedging, but you felt the door start to give way.

You stopped and moved back over to the hole.

Sans was just about to call for you when your head reappeared over the opening, your arm reaching down to him.

“Hey, I think we can get out up here, grab my hand,” You wiggled your fingers, trying to stretch a little lower so he could reach you.

“heh, jumpin ain’t my strong suit…” Sans eyed your hand warily, but he knew there wasn’t much other choice, “alright, frisk...here goes nothing.”

Using a nimbleness you only remember him using the last time you saw him in the Judgement Hall, he took a short running start and managed to jump high enough to grab your forearm and you did the same for him, both of your hands coming down to hold him tightly.

You helped him up, trying to avoid the edge as best you could before you pointed at the door you had tried to wedge open, panting a little.

“I was able...to get it to move...a little,” You took a steadying breath and pushed yourself to a standing position and slipped through the wires so Sans had enough room to stand on his own, “I’m pretty sure the two of us can get it to open all the way.”

“sounds like a elevating plan to me.” Sans stood and moved toward the door with you.

You smiled and tried not to laugh as you started to try and pry one side of the doors open. Sans took the other side and his grin widened as he saw you trying to hide your laughter.

With the two of you pulling in opposite directions, the doors finally started to pry open and slid easily along their tracks.

“Go up,” You said, leaning back to hold the door open.

He hesitated a moment, but then used his arms to push himself up onto the correct floor. He turned to help you when he saw you had slipped.

You let out a small noise of discomfort when the elevator started to vibrate underneath you and it made your feet slip out from under you. You could hear the intercom from inside the elevator through the open panel.

“Now where did they--Oh~! I see, thought to outsmart me, my darlings? Let’s see if there are any rats in the shaft, shall we?”

The elevator started to rise quickly, you hardly had a moment to try and move, but you felt something wrap around your SOUL and you were yanked through the doors quickly. You let out a short scream, seeing your SOUL hanging in front of your body and surrounded by a dark blue magic.

Seeing it made you have heavy flashbacks, but your body hit Sans’s and the magic disappeared, making you both just barely miss going over the edge of the thin, rocky walkway.

You felt yourself tremble, but jumped when you heard the elevator slam into the roof of the shaft, which was less than ten feet. The thought that it had almost been you made you shudder and take a few deep breaths.

“you alright, frisk?” Sans’s arms tightened around you.

“Y-yeah,” you said swallowing and jumping slightly when the elevator suddenly plummeted past the doors in a free fall, “Sh-shit…”

“yeah, i hear that,” Sans nodded before he helped you both stand, “c’mon, we’re almost to the resort, just just around the corner.”

You nodded and held his hand as the both of you started moving toward the MTT Resort, and whatever waited for you there.

~*~

Sans saw you reach for another invisible SAVE point before commenting, “what do they look like?”

You blinked and glanced at him before looking down at the small sparkling sprite in your hand, “Well, they’re kind of like stars, I suppose...they glow brightly like jewels and just sparkle brilliantly whenever I touch them.”

His eyes travelled down to where your hand was and you could almost see the curious longing in his eyes, so you smiled.

“You know, Gaster has always been able to see them, even if he can’t use them,” You informed Sans, “I bet with enough DETERMINATION, you could probably see them too.”

He glanced up at you before chuckling, “dunno if you noticed, kiddo, i’m not exactly the DETERMINED type of monster.”

You shrugged, “Maybe, but while everyone has dominant traits, I think they aren’t exclusive; the same way someone can learn to be PATIENT, I think someone can learn to be DETERMINED, even if it's just for a short time.”

Sans was about to disagree, but he paused to think about it first. It was true that humans in particular always had a trait that was their defining one, and many secondary and tertiary traits; monster souls had always been different. They presented white because of their heavy connections to magic, but every monster had a magic they were good at, all linked to the same types of traits that humans showed with such saturation.

His was a dark blue--integrity--and he wondered how he would even go about learning to be DETERMINED.

As if you read his mind, you crossed your arms behind your back and said, “Sometimes, it's easiest to feel DETERMINATION when you think of a goal, or a promise you’ve made, or even another person. That’s how I kept going, even when I felt so...broken.”

You glanced to one side, looking ashamed, before you continued, “Thinking about the promises I made to Gaster, and to Chara, and even to myself about Asriel, it gave me the DETERMINATION to go on, even if for just a little longer.”

Sans hated making promises, but he could think of one that he had made so many times in so many timelines--all except this one, he blinked at the realization.

He promised the voice behind the door--Toriel, he now knows--that he would protect you. Before this timeline, he’d always taken a backseat in that role, letting you make your own path and sort of giving up when you died--you’d RESET or LOAD anyway--but this time, he couldn’t let himself not care. Sans knew he _had_ to protect you, the same way you _had_ SAVE everyone.

There was a moment where he thought he saw a twinkle in front of your hand, but it was gone almost as soon as he saw it.

He shrugged, “maybe i’ll see it eventually.”

You smiled at him, “Maybe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and please visit my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/) My ask is always open!


	20. An Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyya~
> 
> This chapter's kind of short, but the end is drawing near, so I'm hesitating just a little. I really love this story for what I meant it to be--a sort of retelling of Undertale that fit my own wishful thinking. An optimistic one, rather than one that was overly filled with dread and clever twists.
> 
> I hope everyone is enjoying it, and don't worry; the ending is still a little ways off, but I'm sure all of you can sense it.

Mettaton watched the screens as you progressed with Sans and tried to process why Sans--someone who had been so lazy--was now helping you. It was obvious you weren’t going to kill anyone; Mettaton wasn’t stupid and as soon as he started having the memories of the previous timelines, he knew that something was going on.

You reran each scenario, usually with small changes, sometimes with huge repercussions. Sometimes you tried something completely different and got lucky, but you were hoping for some ending or another. He just couldn’t figure out what. Then, of course, you had killed everyone. What a strange human...

Alphys had ordered--well, more asked, the timid darling--that Mettaton not let the human get passed him. Asgore had to be protected, after all. Mettaton didn’t really care about any of that; he’d stop the human for his same old reasons: he wanted the human SOUL that would grant him leave of the Underground. He could remember why he changed his mind in every other timeline; Napstablook was his dear cousin, but hadn’t Mettaton made the choice to become the most famous? Hadn’t he chosen his dream? Why would he change it now, when he was so close?

His phone buzzed again and Mettaton glanced at the name on it. Alphys was finally calling, most likely to call him off or ask if he’d finished the human yet. Mettaton’s eyes darted to another screen and he could see the whole group of them: Alphys, Undyne, Papyrus, and even Dr. Gaster, racing from place to place, getting stopped by strange creatures that caused the cameras to glitch and get fuzzy.

Regardless, he wouldn’t answer Alphys’s call.

Instead, he turned the phone off and turned away from the screens. You were almost at his stage, the place that would be your grave.

Even if he had to kill you over, and over, and over again.

~*~

Sans had tried to convince you that you should rest, but you shook your head and pressed on.

“The SAVE points give me back my energy,” You started across the bridge that lead toward the CORE.

A thought occurred to Sans as he followed you and he asked, “they heal you too, right?”

You nodded, “Yeah, usually.”

“so what happened when you came out of the ruins? and in waterfall,” Sans’s voice was curious.

“I...I think it had to do with my wavering DETERMINATION,” You shrugged, “The SAVE points wouldn’t heal me as much, and to be honest, I didn’t think I deserved to be healed. I…”

You hesitated and your steps slowed a little, your eyes downcast.

“I deserved to hurt like that; for all of those monsters to attack me and…” You swallowed, but shook your head, “But I can’t face anyone else like that; I won’t be able to survive if I don’t have full HP.”

Sans’s eyes turned to you, even as he matched your pace; in his mind’s eye, he could see that broken smile, and the tears that appeared when you walked out of the Ruins in this timeline, called his and Papyrus’s name and then collapsed. His hand reached out for yours and he felt you jump, but his eyes were already on the doors that would lead the both of you into the CORE.

“c’mon, kiddo,” He said quietly, “you said it yourself, we can’t stop now.”

You stared at Sans for a moment before smiling at him and nodding, “Yeah, yeah, you're right.”

Even after his voice of confidence, as soon as you entered the CORE, you froze.

The elevator was still there, but returning else had changed.

“he rearranged the CORE,” Sans said from beside you, “that's what he took his time doing; he wanted to get us lost…”

You pressed your lips together, “Would you be able to use a shortcut?”

Sans contemplated it quietly, “i could try…”

The way he said it made you glance at him, “You sound like you don’t think it would work.”

“dunno if it will,” He shrugged, glancing around, “the CORE has a lot of magical energy hanging in the air; most monsters have to train pretty hard to not get caught up in it.”

“And you?” You glanced at the four doorways that you didn’t recognize at all.

“don’t like spending too much time here,” He admitted.

“Better safe, than sorry,” You sighed, before moving toward the first open doorway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and please visit my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/) My ask is always open!


	21. Avoiding Death by Glamour

Three times, you had to turn back all the way to the start and you shook your head. If there’s no way to the end through this last corridor, you were going to seriously consider murdering Mettaton.

_Of all the monsters you could choose to kill_ , Chara hissed in the back of your mind, his voice weak, _Why couldn’t you have been this annoyed at that Fish bitch?_

Chara’s voice had always been quieter when your own DETERMINATION was strong, it was why it had always been so easy for you to ignore him as a child. You did so again now--your focus was on the corridor, and watching for ambushes--but you send him warm feeling anyway.

_Ugh, don’t be gross_ , Chara scoffed, but he didn’t disappear.

A smile appeared, but you turned a corner and sighed in relief. There was the door that would lead you onward.

“mettaton’s going to be waiting, you know that don’t you?” Sans sounded uncertain, but you shrugged.

“Mettaton’s a big sweetie,” You answered, hesitating before walking through the door, even though it automatically slid open to reveal a pitch black interior.

Sans looked unconvinced, “so why hasn’t he backed off yet? there’s no way alphys and the others haven’t tried to call him, and he should be remembering things like the rest of us, so-”

He froze when his eyes snapped to look behind you, his hand reaching out reflexively for you. You were confused until you felt something grab the back of your shirt and yank you backwards into the darkness, the door slamming shut as soon as you were inside.

“FRISK!” Sans was pounding on the door, but to you, it was muffled.

You stumbled, but instead of hitting the ground whatever held you lifted you into the air and neatly threw you into the air so you could land on a makeshift stage in front of Mettaton. You coughed as the wind was knocked out of your lungs, and you blearily saw his arms retracting to their normal length. He must have gotten tired of waiting for you to walk through the door and took matters into his own hands.

You snorted, despite the situation, at your own mental pun.

“This is _hardly_ a laughing matter, darling,” Mettaton was already in his EX form, which gave you pause, considering his voice was low and almost...sinister?

You rose to your feet and brushed off your clothes, watching Mettaton all the while. He had a sobering look on his face, one that you couldn’t read.

“Mettaton,” You finally broke the silence, “You know I’m not going to fight you! Let Sans in here so we can get to Asgore.”

“I just can’t do that, darling~” Mettaton’s usual boisterous voice still held it's over dramatic flair, but it was quiet, “You must understand, you have a little passenger that I simply _cannot_ allow to pass by.”

You froze, your eyes widening, “W...What? You mean-”

“Yes!” Mettaton posed dramatically, “Chara cannot be allowed to pass! He’s already proven able to influence your actions, I cannot let him reach the surface and jeopardize all of humanity~!”

_This bucket of scrap metal might just get on my nerves_ , Chara scoffed, but made no move to exert his will.

Mettaton was talking again, “Unless you find a way to banish Chara from your mind, I won’t let you pass~”

You swallowed, “I made a promise, Mettaton; Chara can be saved, and I won’t let you stop me.”

“You’ll have to kill me, darling~”

“You know I won’t.”

“Then we’ll be here a very long time.”

~*~

Sans knew banging on the door was next to useless; it was thick steel. He let his magic flare and his first tactic was to use his bone attack, which nearly bounced off uselessly.

He tried to remember the last time you saved and swallowed. If you died, he’d know, but…

A gaster blaster appeared at his shoulder, and he shoved his hands into his pockets. Even if he had to tears the CORE apart piece by piece, he’d get to you.

~*~

The one thing about Mettaton, that you had nearly forgotten in your worry, was that he really wasn’t all that powerful. Sure, his attacks hurt, but while he was in his EX form, he didn’t have the battery power to use more powerful attacks.

Mettaton himself didn’t seem worried at all as you finished dodging another wave of his attacks.

“Alphys isn’t here to help you,” Mettaton said slowly, “And she hasn’t made any modifications to your phone; of your previous advantages, darling, those will be very hard to do without~”

You tried to reach out, “Mettaton, please, if I don’t save everyone, the timeline will keep RESETing!”

“Chara will not pass this room!” Mettaton stomped his foot childishly, making you huff before you had to jump out of the way of his next attack, “I was there to watch as Chara used your body to kill all those monsters; I was there to witness Alphys’s descent into madness because of Undyne’s death.”

You were already breathing hard, trying to get to your feet, “I can’t change those timelines, Mettaton; but I know that Chara must be saved.”

His eye flashed, glancing behind you as you felt the room rumble. You glanced back to see Sans, two gaster blasters at his back, standing in the hole that used to be the door. His left eye was glowing brightly, illuminating the rest of his body.

“I suppose this round needs to end quickly, then, darling~”

Before you could ask what Mettaton meant, you felt your body jerk, and pain bloomed from your stomach.

You couldn’t catch your breath as you looked down at the metal that had impaled you. You followed the length of it with your eyes and saw that it had come out from the stage, a small hole having been revealed. You gasped and felt your knees get weak, but you couldn’t lower yourself without the pain becoming worse. The metal pole wasn’t budging.

“frisk!” Sans hopped up onto the stage, but hesitated just before he touched you, “shit, shit…”

“S-Sans,” You felt a cough coming and swallowed it as best you could, knowing it would just hurt, “I...I have to LOAD--can you…?”

Your hand moved to rest on the metal pole, and you gripped it tightly. Sans didn’t think he could muster the will to end your life, even knowing you were just going to reLOAD.

“Ah, ah~” Mettaton shook his finger before the metal pole started to glow green.

You hissed and felt tears prick your eyes. Sans tensed, watching your HP--which had steadily been decreasing and had stopped at 3/25--now jumped up to max, though you started immediately losing HP again, one point disappearing a second, but you never got below half health before the metal pole would turn green again.

Sans glared at Mettaton, “what is this??”

Mettaton put a finger to his chin, watching you both with half-lidded eyes, an amused smile on his lips, “Darling, I did say I wanted to find a way to keep Frisk alive while I fought them, so they couldn’t do something foolish, like LOAD or RESET.”

“N-no more RESETs,” You choked, your eyes clouded over from pain.

_So you can’t die and he’s just going to keep you in this limbo?_ Chara was growling, and despite the pain, you tried to push back against him as he pushed out his influence through you, _No, you don’t get a choice in this…_

Sans tried to grab the pole, but he felt the magic of it turn hostile and he had to jump back in order to avoid the surge of magic that was meant to harm him.

“mettaton!” Sans rounded on the robot, ignoring the dark look on his face, “cut this out, before i make you!”

He was about to raise his magic, but a small sound made him freeze.

You giggled.

It wasn’t just any giggle; it was _his_ giggle, Chara’s.

Sans turned to you, seeing you almost bent double over the pole sticking through you. Your body, almost bonelessly, leaned up and then backwards, your eyes wide open and blank--except now they were blood red. A wide grin spread over your face before you turned it and caught his look.

“ _Hey, Sansy_ ,” Your voice sounded distorted. You took a step forward and the pole made a squelching noise as it moved inside of you.

Mettaton looked on in wide eyed horror, unable to make himself move as you pulled yourself off of the magic pole, ignoring the gaping wound in your chest as you turned to face Mettaton, the wide grin--too wide, it was too wide for your face--turning sinister as you regarded him.

“ _You metal trashbin_ ,” You giggled, taking a step forward, “ _So you hate me that much? Well, congratulations; you convinced me that I need to take over this pathetic idiot so I can show her how to actually get things done…_ ”

Sans grit his teeth and took a step, mostly to put your-Chara’s--attention on him rather than the robotic idol.

“cut it out, chara,” Sans hissed, “give control back to frisk!”

You turned your gaze to Sans, tilting your head in what would have been a cute way, except for the expression on your face.

“ _I’m going to kill Mettaton, all over again._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and please visit my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/) My ask is always open!


	22. Chara

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyya~
> 
> This chapter feels pretty underwhelming to me :/
> 
> I'm sorry to you all, as we get closer to the end, the more I feel sad for it to end. I want to put out good chapters, so I may change the updating schedule of this Fanfic so that I can give it the attention it deserves. If that happens, I WILL let you all know here in the notes, so be sure to skim them before moving on to the chapters!
> 
> I love each and every one of you; yes, even you, dear reader, who is here only for the reading. You are all important, and I care for each and every one of you <3

Sans felt his blood run cold, and he shifted his stance to watch you carefully.

“Chara, I presume?” Mettaton had been shaken by the sudden change in your demeanor, but stood his ground.

“I don't have to answer the soon-to-be dead!” Your voice was normalizing, and that sent a bolt of panic through him, but before he could react to that, he saw your body lurch forward, lunging for Mettaton.

Sans quickly surrounded your SOUL with his deep blue magic, and your body hit the floor.

Mettaton took a step back; he hadn't been ready for you, or Chara, not at all.

“sorry to bring up the _gravity_ of the situation,” Sans didn't let you up, though he could feel you struggle against his magic with the bright red of your DETERMINATION, “but you need to bring frisk back, now!”

Chara fought to turn your head to stare at Sans, your smile stretched so far that it was cracking your chapped lips, “ _Stay out of this, you smiley trashbag._ ”

“frisk!” Sans reached out with his magic, deeper than the surface.

Chara growled. He knew that if Sans got too closely involved, your own DETERMINATION would supersede his own. Mettaton was his target and now he was being stopped.

Sans tried to hide it, but he was panicking. The thought of killing you, all over again because Chara was possessing you….He felt his magic waver for a moment and he focused again. He _had_ to reach out to you!

~*~

You tried to find the light that you knew would lead you back to consciousness, but it was dark in the void where Chara usually slept. Dark and you could feel the way Chara was trying to suppress you.

“Chara!” You screamed, not even hearing the echo of your scream, “Chara, don't kill Mettaton!”

You groaned and pressed your hands to your eyes. You were worried that Chara would save over Mettatons death and you would have to start all the way over at the start. Or that Chara wouldn't give back control.

_”frisk!”_

You froze, hearing Sans’s voice echo in the void.

A pit opened up on your stomach; was Chara turning on Sans now??

You swallowed and set your jaw. No, Chara would not do this, not to you and not to Sans.

The idea of Sans and Mettaton in danger fills you with DETERMINATION.

~*~

Chara pushed his will out and raised your body. Sans felt sweat starting to gather on his skull, but he didn't dare raise his magic any higher.

Mettaton suddenly felt as if he'd made a grave mistake.

Chara started to step forward, and the smile never faded, “I won't be trapped in this God-forsaken Mountain for another round of timelines; by Asgore, I will destroy you, you tin trashcan.”

“get out of here,” Sans was focused on Chara, but yelling at Mettaton; Sans had to release his magic, it wasn't holding Chara anymore, “go on!”

Mettaton hesitated, and Chara took advantage of that. He lunged forward again, ready to tear the robot apart. A wave of fear overcame Mettaton and he couldn't move.

Sans acted as fast as he could, lifting Mettaton high in the air until he was able to stand on the ceiling. Sans kept an eye on Chara as he maintained his magic, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“I told you to stay out of this,” Chara sounded _too_ polite, “Why don't you learn to listen?”

“can't sit by and let you mess up everything that kiddo has worked for this timeline,” Sans shrugged, “so why don't you just let frisk back out and go back into whatever joke you crawled out of.”

Chara opened his mouth to answer, but froze when he felt your DETERMINATION suddenly start to boil in the pit of his stomach, “Dammit, just let me handle this!”

You felt his resistance and you were nearly stopped dead; you couldn't stop, you had to stay DETERMINED. You pushed forward, getting a sense of the room first. As far as you could tell, Chara still hadn't been able to get past the stage and that made you even more DETERMINED to push him back.

_Chara, stop!_ You were grasping for control, like all you had to do was shake out the heaviness of your limbs, and you'd be back in control.

“ _I said, let me handle this!_ ” Chara’s voice was getting weaker, “ _You don't have the guts to take us to the end, I won't let a bucket of bolts trap us for another RESET!_ ”

He hunched over, wrapping his arms tightly around your body before your own voice broke out of your throat.

“We will save _everyone_ , Chara,” You panted, falling to your knees.

_If we die, even_ once _, I’m taking over again and you won’t get control back!_ Chara spat at you before his presence in your mind faded and you sat back on your heels, swaying dangerously.

“woah, woah, kiddo,” Sans dropped to a knee next to you, catching your shoulders to keep you from falling over, “you ok?”

“Just…” You leaned into his touch and closed your eyes, “Dizzy...very, very dizzy.”

“i gotcha, don’t worry,” Sans leaned his head down onto yours, closing his eyes tightly and trying not to focus on how close he had come to losing you again.

“Darlings, I don’t mean to interrupt, but~” Mettaton was suddenly saying from above you both, “Mind if I come down?”

Sans grumbled a little, but lowered the robot to the ground--he’d _wanted_ to just release his power and let Mettaton figure it out himself, but he figured you wouldn’t appreciate that--but Sans watched him warily.

“you can’t stop us,” Sans informed the robot, “you definitely couldn’t have handled chara.”

“Please,” You said weakly, opening your eyes to watch Mettaton, “We can’t stop now; I have to reach Asgore, and I have to get there soon…”

Sans glanced down at you with worry on his face, “you should really take a minute to breathe, kiddo.”

You were about to protest, and tried to push away from Sans, but your body swayed again and you couldn’t even try to get up without almost falling over, so you simply nodded toward Sans.

“I need a SAVE point,” you closed your eyes, “I think there’s one ahead.”

“let me worry about that,” Sans said absently.

Mettaton watched you both warily before he relented; he really _wasn’t_ a match for you, even now. Asgore probably wouldn’t even be able to stop you, whatever your real agenda was; all anyone could do now, was wait and hope you were telling the truth about your mission of salvation and peace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and please visit my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/) My ask is always open!


	23. A Restful Place

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyya~
> 
> Sorry this story went dark for a few days. I've decided that I'm going to post chapters on this on an extended schedule. I'm simply going to give it the time it needs and deserves because it will be ending shortly. This might mean that it will take a couple days before another chapter is posted and I hope all of you will be ok with that.
> 
> I love you all and I wanted to let you know that I think each of you is important~

While you didn’t need help standing after a moment to breathe, you swayed dangerously without Sans steadying you with an arm wrapped around your waist. You tried to pay attention to what Sans and Mettaton were talking about, but you felt a buzzing in your ears that you thought had something to do with exhaustion.

“do you know where the others are?” Sans had his arm wrapped tightly around your waist, and his eyes were on Mettaton warily.

“Well darling, as far as I could tell, they were having a little trouble with some strange colorless monsters,” Mettaton tried to act his usual arrogant self, but he sounded deflated and a little put out.

Sans felt a little annoyed, “and you didn’t think to go help them out??”

“I was under the impression that Frisk was the bigger threat~” Mettaton said it too sweetly.

“if my bro or my dad end up hurt because of your rusted-”

“I’m off to help them now, Darling,” Mettaton waved him off, leaving Sans to fume silently, “I just hope you know what you’re doing, helping Frisk and all…”

Sans didn’t dignify that with an answer before he tugged you gently, helping you to move forward. He knew that the elevator to New Home was just around the corner, and from there, he knew he could find a suitable place for the two of you to rest...if the place he was thinking of was still standing, that was.

~*~

New Home stretched out before him, the gray of the buildings making the grandeur of it all seem so bland and so...empty. He supposed he could thank the fact that it was technically ‘night’ here in the capital--something the other regions didn’t bother to listen to, because of their small populations--but it still gave him an eerily familiar chill.

He ducked through an alleyway, before sighing in relief to see that the old warehouse was still standing, and still looked abandoned.

You groaned quietly at his back; you’d nearly collapsed while standing in the elevator, and couldn’t straighten up when you both arrived in New Home. Now, he was giving you a piggy-back ride, holding you underneath your knees and leaning forward enough for you to lay on him, so you didn’t have to hold yourself up. He didn’t even think you could at this point.

Your HP had remained the same, but he could feel that you were more than physically hurt; struggling with Chara had taken a lot out of you.

You blinked, trying to focus your eyesight as you saw the door leading into the warehouse glow blue before it slid to the side, closing behind you both as Sans walked you into it. The inside wasn’t empty, though the thick layers of dust and the broken down nature of the place let you know it had been abandoned for a long time.

“Where…?” You lifted your head and looked around tiredly.

“it’s just an old place that was used to store stuff when dad was the royal scientist,” He explained easily, moving to a rickety set of metal stairs that were along one wall. They creaked, and make you hold onto Sans tighter, though he didn’t feel much difference because of how worn out you were.

The staircase lead up to a metal walkway, which in turn lead to a large room that had been, mostly likely, some kind of office. Instead, there were a few rough cots, and relaxing chairs--which didn’t look so comfy anymore, now that they had been sitting for who knows how long--and through an open doorway, you could see some kind of kitchenette in a smaller rom.

As if he could feel you studying the rooms, Sans spoke up, “the science division used to stay here when experiments were moved here--usually while they were still being run. dad spent more than his fair share of time here too, back before the accident.”

You nodded absently, resting your head against his shoulder while your eyes drooped. You felt Sans’s body hum as he began to use more magic, but you were too tired to even try to move so you could watch. Instead, you curled against his back even tighter.

“hey now, don’t fall asleep yet; can’t take this lying down,” he chided quietly, smiling when you snorted, but he could already feel your attention drifting, “why couldn’t the bicycle stand on it's own?”

You blinked slowly, taking a steadying breath before you tried to focus on his joke, “mmmhm...why?”

“cause it was _two-tired_ ,” Sans said easily, finishing setting up a cot now that he had shaken it of dust and such; he moved forward, turning to sit at the foot so could easily slide off and lay on the bed.

You laughed quietly, sliding off his back, but forcing yourself to sit up, “Geez, Sans…”

“yeah, i know, it's a _tired_ joke and all,” He shrugged, turning in his place to watch you carefully, though there was an easy smile on his face, “i should probably get some new ones and stop _bi-cycling_ them.”

You snorted and leaned forward until you were resting against his shoulder, your forehead resting right on the ball of his shoulder, “I love your tired old jokes, though…”

Sans was going to answer, but he felt his coat pocket vibrate and carefully moved so he could pull it out without bothering you.

He was relieved to see Papyrus’s caller ID and answered it quickly.

“paps,” He said easily, “are you and dad ok?”

“AH! BROTHER!” Papyrus seemed to cover the receiver and said something muffled before coming back, “YES, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AND OUR FATHER ARE PERFECTLY OK, THANKS TO THE AMAZING SKILLS OF THE GREAT PAPYRUS!”

Sans thought he heard Gaster chuckle in the background, but was already asking, “are alphys and undyne ok?”

“YES, WE ARE ALL SAFE! EVEN METTATON HAS REACHED ALPHYS’S LAB SAFELY!” Papyrus sounded so excited, that Sans refrained from cursing into the receiver.

Then something struck him.

“wait, are you all still at alphys’s lab?”

Papyrus hesitated before saying, “SADLY, YES; THOSE CREATURES THAT WERE IN THE TRUE LAB WERE ALSO IN THE REGULAR LAB. AND ALSO ALL OVER HOTLAND. UNDYNE EXHAUSTED HERSELF-” Sans heard Undyne scream a profanity, but Papyrus ignored her and continued, “-AND FATHER SUGGESTED THAT WE REGROUP HERE AT THE LAB.”

You perked up from your place at Sans’s shoulder; you could hear every word Papyrus said, thanks to his loud voice. You caught Sans’s eye and mouthed the words, ‘what creatures?’ but he shook his head and you took it that your question would have to wait.

“hey, bro? lemme talk to dad,” Sans said slowly.

“AH, OF COURSE BROTHER!”

The sound of the phone being changed hands was heard before Gaster’s smooth quiet voice echoed over the phone.

_”Sans? How are the both of you, son?”_ Gaster asked, _”Mettaton suggested that something may be wrong with Frisk…”_

“she just had to deal with chara,” Sans bit out, “other than being exhausted, she’s fine...are all of you going to be ok? Those things, they aren’t that much trouble, right?”

‘you don’t need me to come back, do you?’

He didn’t actually ask the last part, but Sans meant it and it seemed that Gaster understood.

_”We shall be fine, Sans,”_ Gaster said easily, _”They seem to only attack when provoked or when we try to get past them...I think...they are waiting for something.”_

Sans blinked, “waiting for what?”

You surprised Sans when you answered first.

“They’re waiting for the end,” Your voice was a little distant as you stared down at your lap, “Some things can’t be changed…”

Sans seemed to understand immediately, “they’re not supposed to show up until you face asgore…”

You nodded.

_”Then it would seem we are stuck until then,”_ Gaster said easily, _”But if things cannot be changed, then we will know when we need to leave.”_

Sans nodded, but he felt you start to tremble.

“i gotta go, dad,” His eyes studied you, though your face was turned down far enough that he couldn’t read your expression, “yeah, talk to you soon. bye.”

He turned to you, his phone slipping back into his pocket, “frisk, what’s wrong?”

You shook your head, trying to take deep calming breathes, “If...if they come, Flowey will…b-but if they don’t come, Ashore will be the one who suffers.”

Sans put a hand on your shoulder, “not this time; you said it yourself: this is the last timeline.”

The way his voice held firm, and the way he sounded so thoroughly convinced by your words eased you a little bit, but a tremor still ran through your body. You swallowed and nodded, but you still couldn’t look up at him.

His bony hand came up to cup your cheek, the warmth of his magic soothing your cool skin. He started to gently urge you to raise your face, but you resisted, but only until his voice rang in your ears quietly.

“frisk, please.”

It wasn’t more than a whisper, but you still pulled a breath in through your nose and swallowed before letting him pulled your face up to look at him. You were trying to blink tears away when he finally was able to see you clearly. His face softened and his thumb gently brushed across your cheek.

“c’mon, frisk,” He chided gently, his voice soft, “all of us believe in you; you’ll get us outta this.”

You swallowed and nodded, but your mind was starting to drift elsewhere. Your lips parted, and your tongue darted out to wet them. You saw Sans’s eyes dart down to watch the movement, and on reflex, you bit your bottom lip.

You could feel his body stiffen a little at that, and your lips twitched in the corner as you forced yourself not to smile at his reaction.

Sans had always been fascinated that you had a skeleton under all that flesh, and since your teeth were the only part that he could see to prove that fact, it always got him when he saw them biting into your own lips. You took a steadying breath before you felt your DETERMINATION grow.

“Sans,” You breathed, “Kiss me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and please visit my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/) My ask is always open!


	24. Reconnecting **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **WARNING:**   
>  **Smut, sex, the horizontal tango**
> 
> Heyya~
> 
> SOOOOo...there's smut in this chapter; this chapter is also completely skippable because it really has no relevance to the plot. Like I've stated before, this whole story is pure wish fulfillment for me, which includes this chapter of smut :3
> 
> Also, I'm sure you've all noticed that my updating speed on this story has basically turned from 10 down to 1 and I apologize for that; I've said it before, I want to focus on the next few chapters--which are going to be the last--and not rush through them like I'm want to do, lol. I hope you all understand <3

There was a beat of silence after your request, before you saw the blue dusting of a blush on Sans’s face. You felt your own blush appear, but you didn’t back down.

“Please, Sans,” You pressed your lips together and glanced to one side.

He only hesitated a moment more before leaning forward to catch your lips against his teeth; the feeling was so familiar, his eyes closed as it pulled him into a time and place that was so close and yet timelines away. The moment stretched and lasted, but was over in a heartbeat.

You sighed, leaning forward against him, one of your hands resting against his sternum, your eyes still closed as he watched you stay just as lost as he had been. Your lips were parted as you breathed, heavier than before, but still a ghost of something he could barely hear. When your eyes opened, he held them for a few moments before either of you could think to say anything at all.

“you stole my breath, kiddo,” He smiled, but his voice was quiet, still showing how the kiss affected him.

“You know, I’m not so much of a _kid_ anymore, Sans,” Your hand traveled up to cup his jaw, your eyes holding his playfully, “But, we both know that.”

He swallowed, his fingertips remembering the ghost of your skin and his ears remembering the echoed memory of your voice. His body tensed; with a few words, you set him on fire as if no time at all had passed; as you hadn’t walked away that fateful night trying to find a perfect ending.

“no, not much of a kid,” He agreed, “but i _goat_ to be honest with you, my nerves are still a little in the way.”

A snort left you and you couldn’t stop the giggle that followed, “Sans, oh my god…”

He winked at you when you finally looked back up at him.

You smiled and leaned forward again, stopping just short of kissing him again, “We can go slowly; I...I really missed you-- _all_ of you.”

You pulled back a little, a bashful smile on your face as you blushed and looked away shyly.

Sans felt his breath disappear, and any chance he had at controlling himself disappeared in a moment of pure want and need and love. He pressed forward until his teeth were against your lips, and his body pressed against yours, fitting against you in a familiar way--a way that you both had practiced so many times because of all the embarrassed giggles and the nervous puns and just for moments of pure want, moments like these.

Your back hit the cot, and Sans caught himself before his full weight could press too hard into your soft skin, but his tongue was already slipping between your lips as you gasped in surprise. You felt his pelvis slip between your legs and you arched your back, moaning into his mouth around the buzz of magic that was relearning the feel of your tongue and mouth.

His tongue dragged across your teeth, leaving your gums tingling, while your hands reached between the two of you and you dragged the zipper of his jacket down, your hands disappearing beneath the wool-lined jacket and passing over his ribcage before reaching around and dragging your nails over his spine through his shirt.

Sans moaned into your mouth and you smiled knowingly.

When Sans finally came back to himself, you were gasping beneath him; one of his hands was buried in your hair, the silken strands wrapped around his bones, leaving his hand shaking. His other hand was already up your shirt and resting on the skin of your side.

“N-nice to know things haven’t changed,” Your words were shaky from the way your breath kept coming out in short puffs, and the shy passion in voice, “Still can’t keep your hands off of me.”

He hummed and pressed his teeth to your forehead, if only to give himself time to find any composure at all, before he spoke, “what can i say? i’m a skeleton who wants to skele _bone_ you.”

You groaned and gripped his shirt in your fist, “I definitely did _not_ miss the way you ruin most romantic bedroom moments with a pun.”

The hand on your side squeezed gently before it moved up to dip just the tip of his finger below the band of your bra.

“bet i can guess which parts you _did_ miss,” He breathed, satisfied with the shiver that passed over you from such a small action on his part.

You wrapped your legs loosely around his pelvis, pulling his down to meet your hips while your hands slipped under his shirt to drag your nails over his spine, “You don’t have to guess.”

You breathed the words against his jaw before you speckled it with as many kisses as you could.

He groaned, almost cursing, before he pushed up your shirt and leaned down to kiss your collarbone, nipping the bone underneath the skin. You groaned and arched your back, another blush staining your cheeks as you felt his teeth drag across your skin, toward the edge of your bra. Your skin tingled and you swallowed another moan when his hands slipped under your back when you arched your back. He handled the hooks with little difficulty and your bra was pushed up the same way as your shirt.

“H-hey,” You complained breathily, “At least take it o-Ah!”

A cry interrupted your words when his tongue left his mouth in order to drag across your already hard nipples. You gripped his spine with both of your hands and felt his moan against your skin. Your hips moved against his pelvis, and you could already feel the magic-induced bulge. You opened your eyes--when did they close?--and sure enough, his left eye was burning with magic.

You took a steadying breath, which was almost taken from you when Sans switched to your other breast, and pushed his jacket off of his shoulders, helping him shed it and ignoring it as it fell off one side of the cot. His shirt was your next task, and he made a noise of protest as he pulled away from his own task in order for his shirt to disappear the same way his jacket had.

Your eyes trailed down, taking in each bone and curve; your hands moved up to move along his ribs again and you dipped your fingers between them. His gasp and groan made you smile before one of your hands dipped down until you found the place where his ribs connected to his spine and you rubbed your thumb in tight circles near it.

He shivered, his hips bucking against yours. You moaned and swallowed hard; you could feel your own need and the wet slick feeling between your legs. You let his spine go and found the waist of his shorts, pushing it down until his glowing blue dick sprang free from it's confines. You took a short breath, but your fingers wrapped around it, pleased to feel the tingle of magic that came with it.

“Sans,” You breathed his name, stroking him slowly, reintroducing yourself to the feeling even as his fingers left your skin and moved to your shorts.

He moaned your name, his hips bucking again before he could manage to get your shorts off--he had to unwrap your legs from around him and you fought him a little, a teasing smile on your lips as you continued to stroke him. His hand was against your center instantly and you bucked against him.

“i can’t hold back,” Sans groaned, feeling how read you already were; he moaned your name, “c’mon, doll…”

You shivered at the familiar nickname. Your hand slipped away from his length, and you felt him line up against your center, “Sans, please…”

Your breath caught as you felt him slide in easily, his cock thrumming with his magic inside of you, leaving you feeling breathless and tingling. He couldn’t wait for anything, and bucked against you, bottoming out.

A hiss escaped you before you moaned, “D-don’t stop.”

Sans didn’t have to be told twice. He bucked into you and then pulled back in order to slide back in. His pace was steady, starting out slow and building as the both of you moved against each other, the familiar dance building a passion that had both of your SOULs glowing brightly between the two of you, both shining with sparkling light that mixed together and mesmerized you while Sans moved above you.

You leaned up and kissed Sans, your tongue dancing with his while your moans were muffled again. The pleasure made you tremble, and a moan ripped from your throat as your hips bucked out of rhythm.

“Sans, I-I, I can’t…” You almost sobbed, your voice shaking.

“i gotcha, doll,” He reached up to run his thumb along your cheek, his own end coming closer with each spasm of your inner walls, “come for me.”

“I want to, oh god, I-”

Your words were cut off when your orgasm hit you like a truck, your back arching and your head tilting back, leaving your neck exposed for Sans to tease with his teeth and tongue. You moaned, gripping Sans’s hand when he tried to dip between you both to find the sensitive button of your clit; you don’t think you could handle him doing that to you.

One more spasm from you, and the way you moaned his name, and Sans was gone, following you into his own climax, his hips giving short thrusts as he rode out his orgasm.

Sans nearly collapsed on top of you, but his elbows caught him well enough.

You swallowed and looked up at him shyly, “W-well…”

He chuckled, kissing your forehead, “well.”

You both laughed, the glow of your shared moment keeping you both warm against the cool temperature of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and please visit my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/) My ask is always open!


	25. A Gear in the Machine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyya~
> 
> Another chapter up in so many days, lucky lucky~
> 
> So, I'm sort of dragging this out because I would like to hit 30 chapters, so another short chapter here, one I hope will fill in more gaps that I've left for myself haha.

Resting proved easy after Sans adjusted so that he was leaning against the wall at the head of the cot and you were placed snugly between his legs. His magic thrummed under you as you rested your head on his chest and sleep found you easily.

Sans, on the other hand, couldn’t seem to find sleep.

His skull was buzzing with the possibilities of what was to come. After this, he knew that the judgement hall was next, a place he usually took up residence for this last leg of your journey, but now he was here, at your side instead.

Did Asgore remember the other timelines the way that everyone else did? Would he notice much of a difference? Asgore just tended that garden of his, letting those golden flowers take over the throne room in the absence of his queen. Did he even hear whispers of what was happening, even though it was a hurricane outside of his walls? Sans just didn’t know.

What he did know was that they were coming to the point where even you have not been able to pass, and there was a strong inkling in Sans’s head as to who was to blame.

“chara,” Sans said slowly, “i know you can hear me.”

It was a long moment that followed. One he half hoped would stretch on and on. Sans certainly didn’t want to have to deal with the child-murderer, but he had his questions and he knew who had the answers. He was rewarded a moment later for his patience.

You didn’t open your eyes, but the voice that came out of your mouth wasn’t yours.

“ _What do you want, smiley trashbag?_ ”

His voice echoed from your throat and Sans held you a little tighter for it, “i wanted to see if you can set a few things straight for me.”

“ _I don’t have to do anything for you,_ ” Chara sneered.

Sans ignored this and asked, “you some kind of ghost, or something?”

“ _Don’t be an idiot; Asriel absorbed my soul._ ”

“had to ask, since you seem a little _haunting_ ,” Sans was pleased with chara’s groan before he continued, “so what’s keepin you here, kid?”

Chara hesitated, but seemed willing to play this game of questions, “ _Pure will and DETERMINATION alone._ ”

“that’s pretty impressive,” Sans said, not insincerely, “so, what do you want?”

There was another long pause, and Sans half wondered if Chara had decided to leave, when he heard, “ _I want to stop existing_.”

A form of horror started in his chest, “what, kid-”

Chara cut him off, “ _I’ve been alive since before most monsters can even remember; and the only reason I ended up in the Underground in the first place was because I was trying to kill myself._ ”

Sans felt like the ground opened up underneath him, but couldn’t find words as Chara continued.

“ _I existed so long in the darkness, by myself...not even Asriel was there to keep me company, all I had were the memories. The memories of my life, and then everything down here in the Underground...I really wanted to help everyone, I promise I did! I wanted Asriel to find seven souls so the barrier could be broken, but he…_ ”

Sans felt your body move, and it was shaky and he knew Chara was in control. A wave of fear passed through him--he can’t of lost you so soon--but there were tears falling down your face as Chara’s red eyes looked back at him, “ _But Asriel was too gentle and nice, and he got killed instead! I hate humans! I hate how mean they are to people who are different, I hate how easily they hurt others, and laugh while they do it, I hate humans! I hate them!_ ”

Chara’s voice had gotten louder and your hands clenched at San’s jacket almost desperately.

“ _I...I sat in that darkness for so long, I…_ ” Chara’s eyes were staring at Sans’s chest, but he was no longer present in the room, “ _I thought about how desperate everyone was to get out, about how no matter what I said to Mom and Dad, they would just keep trying to find a way to destroy the barrier in a peaceful way, and then they’d have to deal with the truth about humans...so I kept thinking about different ways I could have tried to stop them, and I realized…_ ”

Chara bit his lip as Sans supplied the rest.

“you realized that asgore and toriel were filled with so much hope, that they would never stop trying to free all the monsters,” a cold dread started inside of Sans’s chest and his eyes flickered to darkness at the implications.

Chara nodded, “ _I spent_ decades _thinking about that; I don’t know how long I’ve been dead, but that thought was the only thing consuming me. I had to find a way to stop Mom and Dad...even if it meant that I...So, when Frisk showed up, looking so much like me, I thought it was fate. I thought it was perfect to try and figure out how I could get what I wanted from this small child…_ ”

“she didn’t seem to hear you at the beginning,” Sans said easily.

“ _I had time; time meant nothing to me,_ ” Chara shrugged, still staring at Sans’s chest, “ _Every time Frisk RESET, it was just another chance for me to figure out a new way to get under her skin; it wasn’t hard, considering that I could hear all of her thoughts without trying. We already had some kind of connection and I knew what to say to make her doubt herself. It was just a matter of time before I could get her to RESET with just a suggestion._ ”

Sans went cold, “you...you’re the one who made her fail so many times?”

“ _I needed her to follow_ MY _plan,_ ” Chara scoffed, “ _I thought she was some kind of idiot, trying to save all the monsters, just so they could face humanity and get destroyed? It was laughable! but…_

Chara paused again.

“ _But then she started going on and on about how she had to save everyone, including me…_ ” A humorless chuckle left Chara, “ _She’s such an idiot, but I...I guess I’m a bigger one, because I believe her. I believe her and I want to help her get to the end that she’s so desperately grabbing for…_ ”

Sans saw Chara’s eyes well up again before he closed them, “ _I don’t know what happens to a being like me after I would reach a final rest, or whatever, but...it has to be better than this._ ”

“...yeah, guess it would have to be.”

As much as Sans wanted to be angry, and wanted to reach into Frisk and pull this little demon out, he couldn’t find it in himself to try. Chara was a miserable creature, but one who lived with his misery day in and day out. It didn’t make up for the horrible timelines that he’d forced you into, or all the monsters who had died, but this was a last ditch effort to make everything right, and Chara was on board…

Sans sighed before settling back into the wall, watching as your eyes faded from red to their natural color, but Chara said one last thing before he let his hold over you go.

“ _Be careful, trashbag; Frisk may be trying for a happy ending for everyone, but she might forget to include herself in that too._ ”

Sans tensed, but Chara was already gone, as far as Sans could tell. He felt uneasy and shifted, though he knew there was no easy way for him to fall asleep now that he had that warning floating in his head.

~*~

Sleep did eventually find Sans, but it was neither restful, nor long enough. He kept twitching awake, as if he expected Chara to have moved your body, or that he would open his eyes and he’d be back in his bedroom, forced to live another RESET.

None of that happened, but it didn’t make for a conducive rest.

You were the one to wake him up, which he was glad for.

“Sans,” You kissed his teeth and then his chin, “We need to keep moving.”

Sans wrapped his arms around you tighter and chuckled when he heard you whine, “Sans, come on!”

“alright, alright,” Sans yawned, letting you get off of him and start to get ready before he glanced at you, “you feelin’ ok, frisk?”

You glanced at him, “Yeah? Just sort of...nervous…”

“i hear ya, doll,” He sighed to himself, “we’ll make it through, nerves or no.”

You nodded before helping him to his feet so he could straighten his clothes and you both could start for the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always appreciated, and please follow my tumblr: [PurpleUndertaleMom.tumblr.com](http://purpleundertalemom.tumblr.com/) My ask is always open!


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